BY    BREAD    ALONE. 


By 

B  R  EAD 

ALONE 


By 
I.   K.   FRIEDMAN 

Author  of 
The  Lucky   Number   y  Poor  People 


iorfe 

McCLURE,  PHILLIPS  Gf   CO. 
MCMI 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 
BY  ISAAC   K.   FRIEDMAN. 


FIRST  IMPRESSION,  OCTOBER,  1901. 
SECOND  IMPRESSION,  NOVEMBER,  1901. 


DEDICATED  TO   MY   FRIEND 

German  31.  fieitoitrf). 


289 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

I.   THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR i 

II.   EVANGELINE'S  VISIT 13 

III.  SIGHING  FURNACES 26 

IV.  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS 33 

V.   A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER 50 

VI.  THE  NEW  HOME 66 

VII.   AN  IDYLL  OF  THE  MILLS 74 

VIII.   THE  SHINDIG 78 

IX.   IN  THE  DARKNESS 88 

X.   THE  DESTROYERS 96 

XI.  THE  COTILLON 103 

XII.  IN  THE  STEEL  MILL 114 

XIII.  THE  BUILDERS 121 

XIV.  THE  JUDSONS ^34 

XV.   IN  THE  RAIL  MILL 152 

XVI.   THE  SHUT-DOWN 159 

XVII.    HOMEWARD  BOUND 17.2 

XVIIL  HOME,  SWEET  HOME 194 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XIX.   BLAIR  RETURNS 2o6 

XX.   THE  MAN  OF  THE  Ho 
XXI.    PENTON'S  AMUSEMENT 


XX.   THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR 213 


229 

XXII.   THE  RING 234 

XXIII.  DRAMATIC  MOMENTS 249 

XXIV.  AMID  GREEN   FIELDS 259 

XXV.    EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT 273 

XXVI.   THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END 290 

XXVII.   ON  THE  EVE 298 

XXVIII.  THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING 309 

XXIX.   To  ARMS  ! 324 

XXX.   THE  COUNTER  MOVE , 346 

XXXI.   THE  BATTLE 3 r^ 

XXXII.   THE  MILITIA 363 

XXXIII.  FRIENDS  IN  NEED 38! 

XXXIV.  THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES 388 

XXXV.   THE  GIANT  IN  CHAINS 404 

XXXVI.  A  POLISH  WEDDING 4n 

XXXVII.  SIEGE 424 

XXXVIII.  SURRENDER 448 

XXXIX.  THE  SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL 464 

XL.  How  JOURNEYS  END 47  c 


BY    BREAD    ALONE. 


I 

THE    THOUGHTS    OF    BLAIR 

BLAIR  CARRHART  had  a  mind  of  his  own;  he 
had  had  it  since  boyhood;  and  it  became  more 
peculiarly  his  own,  more  strikingly  unlike  any 
other,  as  he  left  his  boyhood  farther  and  farther  be 
hind  him.  Those  who  knew  him  least  shrugged  their 
shoulders  and  dismissed  him  with  the  exclamation, 
"Eccentric!"  And  indeed  to  the  dull,  the  conven 
tional,  and  the  commonplace,  Blair's  marked  individual 
ity  of  mind  and  conduct  might  easily  pass  for  eccen 
tricity.  Those  who  knew  him  best  considered  him  too 
worthy  to  be  so  easily  dismissed,  and  they  hit  nearer 
the  mark  when  they  termed  him  original. 

"  Carrhart,"  once  said  a  candid  friend  at  the  uni 
versity,  "  a  good  many  of  the  fellows  consider  you 
eccentric." 

"  I  may  be,"  answered  Blair,  "  but  it's  a  pity  to  dis 
turb  me,  I  enjoy  myself  so  thoroughly." 

Blair's  answer  may  be  taken  as  Blair's  attitude  to 
wards  what  the  world  and  people  thought.  He  went 
his  own  way  quietly,  solving  the  problems  of  life  for 
himself,  and  refusing  to  accept  the  solutions  of  others. 
It  never  occurred  to  him  that  he  deserved  either  con 
demnation  or  commendation  for  bending  his  actions  to 
his  convictions ;  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  him 

I 


2  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

to  do  otherwise.  He  was  built  along  those  lines. 
Compromise  to  him  was  something  that  met  hypocrisy 
half-way;  and  the  golden  mean  was  a  comfortable 
road  for  fairly  good  people  who  wished  to  jog  through 
life  without  tiring  their  virtues  or  being  too  hard  on 
their  vices.  Blair  was  too  strong  to  be  half  of  any 
thing. 

Blair's  pleasures  were  distinguished  by  the  same 
quality;  he  wished  to  enjoy  himself  in  his  own  way 
and  he  did  it.  He  was  not  the  man  to  brook  interfer 
ence  ;  and  his  towering  frame  and  powerful  muscles 
saved  him  the  trouble  of  proclaiming  it.  However,  he 
was  gentle  and  kind  enough,  he  had  no  desire  either  to 
use  or  abuse  his  superior  strength ;  it  was  there ;  it 
had  been  given  to  him;  perhaps  it  might  come  handy 
some  day ;  and  there  the  matter  ended. 

The  only  deceitful  thing  about  Blair  Carrhart  was 
his  appearance,  and,  as  Blair  used  to  say,  that  was  not 
his  fault.  No  one,  to  strike  him  on  an  average 
day,  seemed  so  absolutely  calm  and  serene,  so  at  ease 
with  his  own  heart.  He  had  the  air  of  one  who  takes 
the  whole  world  for  his  inn  and  who  can  put  up  with 
comfort  anywhere. 

\Yhen  he  strolled  across  the  campus,  pipe  in  mouth, 
hands  in  his  pockets,  he  seemed  the  incarnation  of 
happy  laziness ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  only 
the  complete  repose  after  some  wearing  mental  con 
flict,  and  there  was  not  one  lazy  fiber  in  Blair's  big 
anatomy. 

"  Carrhart,"  remarked  the  same  friend  one  dayt  "  I 
envy  you." 

"Why?"  asked  Blair. 

"  You  seem  to  carry  your  own  bed  with  you  and  to 
nap  whenever  you  like  during  the  day." 


THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR     3 

"  Yes,"  retorted  Blair,  undisturbed,  "  but  you  don't 
know  that  I  am  up  'at  night  long  after  you  are  asleep." 

There  were  long  days  of  restlessness,  too,  when 
one  battle  or  another  was  going  on  in  his  breast,  that 
beheld  Blair  moving  across  campus  and  country  with 
his  peculiarly  long  strides,  as  if  he  were  trying  to 
elude  some  demon  that  dogged  his  heels. 

Nor  was  he  incapable  of  losing  his  temper,  injustice 
of  any  kind  was  quick  to  arouse  it;  and  to  see  him 
angry,  thoroughly  downright  angry,  was  a  sight — a 
beautiful  sight  if  one  were  not  its  object.  His  ponder 
ous  chest  heaving,  his  whole  gigantic  frame  trembling, 
his  jaws  squared,  the  prominent  vein  that  ran  through 
his  high  forehead  to  his  aggressive  nose  empurpling 
it  was  a  study  in  passion ;  but  one  had  to  think 
quickly  to  master  the  study;  for  it  was  all  over  as  it 
came,  in  a  trice. 

Usually  he  wore  his  easy  comfortable  attitude  in  the 
class ;  when  his  large  body  sprawled  out  he  seemed 
the  only  person  in  a  room  too  small.  If  he  failed  in  his 
recitations,  which  was  often  enough,  he  did  it  in  such 
a  graceful  manner  that  the  professor  seemed  at  fault 
for  putting  absurd  questions.  If  Blair  averaged  low 
in  mathematics,  one  felt  somehow  that  mathematics 
were  unimportant;  or  that  Mr.  Blair  Carrhart,  at  any 
rate,  chose  to  consider  them  so.  His  intellect  was 
brilliant,  quick  in  its  grasp,  but  Blair  was  inclined  to 
occupy  it  with  studies  other  than  the  day  demanded. 
He  read  Shakespere  when  he  should  have  been  study 
ing  philosophy,  and  he  had  the  best  knowledge  on  the 
subject  of  any  man  in  the  college — at  the  wrong  time. 
However,  Blair  consoled  himself  with  the  reflection 
that  his  great  pleasure  more  than  compensated  for  his 
low  rank. 


4  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

In  his  junior  year  Blair  decided  to  take  part  in  the 
oratorical  contest.  "  Carrhart,"  said  the  instructor  in 
elocution,  "  I  never  thought  you  had  ambition  enough 
to  do  a  thing  of  that  kind." 

"Neither  did  I,"  answered  Blair  dryly,  "  the  in 
spiration  surprised  me." 

Blair  entered  the  debate  with  his  subject,  "  Modern 
Education,"  carefully  prepared.  It  was  a  wonderful 
oration,  all  things  considered.  Nothing  like  it  had 
ever  been  heard  in  the  college  halls.  It  scathed  mod 
ern  educators  and  education  alike.  It  clearly  showed 
the  folly  of  coming  to  college  when  so  much  more 
might  have  been  learned  by  staying  at  home.  He 
called  college  presidents  misplaced  financiers,  and 
financiers  misplaced  college  presidents.  He  said  man 
was  fashioned  out  of  earth,  college  professors  out  of 
dry  dust. 

His  auditors  were  astonished  at  the  transformation 
which  Blair's  appearance  underwent  on  the  platform ; 
it  was  difficult  for  them  to  recognize  the  lazy  stroller 
of  the  campus  in  the  man  of  fire,  passion,  and  grace 
who  stood  before  them.  He  was  the  orator  born.  He 
had  the  voice  of  a  God  to  threaten,  to  command,  to 
cajole,  to  thrill ;  musical  and  sonorous,  it  filled  the 
hall  without  being  lifted  above  conversational  tones, 
and  when  he  raised  it  to  an  oratorical  pitch  he  lifted 
the  hall.  The  large  head,  the  long  smooth  face,  with 
its  coarse  features,  the  square  chin  and  jaws,  the  ag 
gressive  beaked  nose,  the  brown  eyes,  at  once  pene 
trating  and  challenging,  seemed  there  to  insist  upon 
the  importance  and  sincerity  of  every  word  that 
poured  from  the  strong  lips  of  his  mouth. 

It  was  evident  enough  that  Blair  Carrhart  thought, 
that  he  could  express  his  ideas  forcibly  and  clearly, 


THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR     5 

and  that  he  was  absolutely  without  fear  when  it  came 
to  the  uttering  of  the  things  he  felt  should  be  spoken. 
People  wondered  what  he  would  do  next.  There  was 
apparently  a  great  element  of  reserved  force  in  this 
huge  chap  who  lolled  across  the  campus,  pipe  in 
mouth,  seemingly  so  satisfied  with  the  world  as  it 
ran  and  himself  as  he  was. 

Blair  was  not  sent  to  the  intercollegiate  contest. 
The  judges  were  in  doubt  lest  a  duller  and  more 
promiscuous  audience  take  Blair's  sarcasm  in  all  se 
riousness.  They  advised  him  to  try  again  with  a 
more  appropriate  subject  and  they  praised  his  voice. 
Nevertheless  his  epigrams  were  quoted  far  and  wide, 
and  he  became  a  marked  man  on  the  campus.  The 
professors  turned  to  look  at  him  when  he  passed, 
and  the  president  greeted  him  with  an  equivocal  smile, 
but  Blair  strolled  lazily  along  in  happy  oblivion  of 
both  one  and  the  other. 

Despite  his  abstraction,  his  aloofness,  his  utter  in 
difference  to  appearance,  Blair  was  regarded  with 
favor  by  more  than  one  young  woman  in  that  co 
educational  institution ;  but  the  favor  of  the  other  sex 
escaped  his  attention.  He  had  a  faint  suspicion  that 
women  existed,  and  he  never  troubled  himself  to  dis 
cover  whether  or  not  the  suspicion  was  warranted. 

Nevertheless  a  love  affair  was  inevitable;  it  is  the 
most  vital  study  necessary  for  the  education  of  youth 
not  scheduled  in.  the  university  catalogue.  Blair 
Carrhart  and  Evangeline  Marvin  had  known  each 
other  since  childhood  and  their  ways  parted  only  when 
Blair  entered  the  high  school  and  Evangeline  left  for 
a  private  academy;  at  the  university  tHey  met  again. 
The  mysterious  law  of  opposites  and  other  laws  more 
explicable  attracted  Blair  to  Evangeline,  and  she  de- 


6  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

termined  upon  renewing-  the  friendship  so  long  inter 
rupted. 

At  first  Evangeline's  task  was  not  easy ;  Blair  was 
possessed  by  the  idea  that  if  a  woman  popped  into  his 
mind  all  his  serious  purposes  would  pop  out  of  it,  and 
her  timid  and  gentle  advances  were  met  much  as  a 
deer  greets  a  hunter,  gun  in  hand. 

"  I  always  liked  Evangeline  mightily  well,"  thought 
Blair,  and  that,  in  his  estimation,  seemed  the  best  rea 
son  in  the  world  for  avoiding  her.  A  few  talks  and 
a  few  walks  and  Blair  discovered  himself  taking 
Evangeline  more  seriously ;  her  mind  was  anything 
but  the  conventionally  cut-out-and-dried  sort  of  an 
affair,  and  Blair  opened  his  eyes  wide  and  looked 
down  at  her  in  grave  perplexity  when  she  vented  her 
opinions.  "  She's  a  nice  girl  and  she  thinks  clearly," 
he  admitted. 

The  barriers  erected  to  oppose  the  entrance  of  fem 
ininity  were  rapidly  swept  away  and  his  thoughts  dwelt 
on  her  at  a  length  which  won  Blair's  disapproval. 
"  She's  pretty  and  attractive  in  every  way/'  he  finally 
admitted.  Blair  began  to  pay  attention  to  his  dress. 
Their  friendship,  without  Blair's  voice  in  the  matter, 
ripened  into  love  swiftly,  and  at  the  beginning  of  their 
junior  year  they  were  betrothed. 

The  mental  contrast  between  the  two  was  strong. 
Evangeline  was  a  bundle  of  emotions  held  together  by 
a  strong  rope  of  brain  ;  and  she  was  in  constant  dread 
lest  the  rope  break  and  the  bundle  fly  apart ;  it  was 
the  other  way  around  with  Blair.  She  clung  to  him 
for  his  strength  of  mind,  his  assurance,  the  positive- 
ness  of  his  convictions,  his  fearlessness,  the  protection 
which  his  rugged  masculinity  offered  against  the 
rough  usages  of  the  world. 


THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR     7 

Her  seriousness  couched  in  womanly  grace,  never 
somber  or  heavy;  her  sadness  that  faintly  tinged  all 
her  varying  moods,  that  constantly  peeped  through  her 
persistent  battle  for  happiness  and  contentment,  like 
bits  of  brown  and  withered  herbage  through  fields 
covered  with  snow ;  her  earnest  desire  to  find  a  place 
in  the  world  that  should  not  be  one  of  mere  decora 
tion;  her  fear  lest  the  place  be  found  and  she  prove  a 
superfluous  ornament — these  were  all  qualities  that 
made  their  impress  in  Blair's  heart.  It  was  like  an  ivy 
twining  softly  around  the  oak,  in  gratitude  for  its 
protection,  to  prevent  its  broken  branches  from  falling 
to  the  ground. 

Meantime  Blair  was  worried  over  the  choice  of  a 
profession.  By  nature  Blair  was  religious,  even  devo 
tional;  and  he  had  entered  the  university  with  the 
idea  of  fitting  himself  for  the  ministry,  but  his  studies 
in  philosophy  and  science  disturbed  his  faith.  His 
senior  year  came  and  found  him  still  undecided,  his 
faith  trembling  in  the  balance;  and  his  parents,  who 
were  anxiously  awaiting  Blair's  decision,  were  kept  in 
the  dark.  Blair's  father  hoped  that  religion  would 
lose  in  its  struggle  against  science.  He  had  the  usual 
objections  of  the  successful  man  of  affairs  to  the  min 
istry  ;  and  besides  he  wished  Blair  to  assist  him  in  his 
business.  Then  Blair  arrived  at  his  resolution,  and  it 
were  as  difficult  to  change  it  as  to  put  a  broken  egg 
together. 

One  night  in  June,  just  before  Commencement, 
Blair  walked  out  alone  among  the  hills  that  rose 
from  the  ground  along  the  river  like  billows  from  a 
sea.  He  reached  a  favorite  spot  and  sat  in  silence, 
smoking.  The  June  night  was  perfect.  All  that  was 
spiritual  in  the  man  communed  with  the  mysterious 


8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Maker  who  nailed  the  stars  in  the  sky  and  gave  the 
moon  to  the  darkness.  The  clock  from  the  tower  of 
the  university  hall  struck  ten  sonorous  strokes  that 
echoed  away  into  silence.  Eleven  came  and  still  Blair 
sat  there  in  reverie.  The  hill  seemed  made  for  a 
seat ;  the  sky  a  drapery  for  the  background  of  his  stal 
wart  body ;  the  stars  swinging  lamps  to  illumine  the 
vast  hall  of  the  night. 

Far  down  in  the  lowlands,  where  the  river  ran  into 
a  sluggish  bayou,  the  dead  tamaracs  lifted  up  their 
stark  branches  like  the  praying  hands  of  monks  robed 
in  black ;  the  green  wild  rice  shimmered  and  fluttered. 
The  myriad  life  of  the  stagnant  pools  was  awake  and 
chattering;  and  at  long  intervals  the  hooting  of  an 
owl  broke  in  the  chorus  harshly. 

The  green  live  tamaracs  on  the  hills  seemed  perched 
there  like  sentinels  to  guard  the  somber  field  of  the 
dead.  The  moon  emerged  from  a  bank  of  white 
clouds ;  a  soft  light  exhaled  from  the  swamp  like  an 
illuminated  mist. 

Blair  buried  his  face  in  his  hands ;  the  pipe  dropped 
from  his  mouth  to  the  ground.  He  was  overcome  by 
the  great  inexplicable  forces  at  work  everywhere,  by 
the  godliness  of  the  night,  by  the  strong  and  rever 
ential  emotions  that  shook  his  breast.  His  decision 
was  taken  then  and  there ;  the  battle  of  thought  was 
over.  He  surrendered  himself  to  the  universe,  to  the 
warm  earth,  to  the  heavens.  He  did  not  belong  to 
himself.  It  was  as  if  he  stretched  out  his  hand  and 
God  had  grasped  it. 

He  arose;  his  huge  figure  dominating  the  nieht. 
"  You  have  accepted  me,"  he  said  to  himself  softly,  his 
large  head  thrown  back,  his  hands  clenched,  "  I  will 
always  speak  the  truth,  fearlessly,  as  I  know  it.  I  will 


THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR     9 

defend  justice  and  uphold  the  poor  and  the  lowly.  I 
will,  I  always  will.  Help  me !  " 

The  river  laughed  and  gurgled  as  it  wound  between 
the  hills ;  the  stars  twinkled  as  if  approving  his  decla 
ration.  Blair  walked  homeward  slowly,  drinking  in 
the  pure  air  with  deep  breaths;  his  strong  face  was 
smiling,  peaceful  as  the  night  itself,  happy  as  nature 
in  June.  Life  was  good,  full  of  great  possibilities,  ma 
jestic  with  noble  purposes;  and  his  face  became  ra 
diant  with  the  thought  that  inspired  him. 

When  Carrhart  senior  attended  the  commence 
ment  exercises  he  knew  the  case  was  hopeless,  and, 
like  a  wise  father,  he  let  his  determined  son  have  his 
own  way,  and,  mlaking  the  best  of  a  bad  situation,  he 
put  his  social  and  financial  influence  at  work  to  secure 
Blair  an  important  pulpit.  Three  years  later  Blair 
was  established  in  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  of  Chi 
cago's  churches. 

Blair's  first  sermon  pleased  his  father  immensely — 
he  had  never  enjoyed  a  sermon  so  well  in  his  life.  He 
was  almost  alone  in  his  admiration ;  the  congregation 
wagged  its  plutocratic  heads  and  shook  its  fashionable 
bonnets  disapprovingly.  The  new  minister's  voice 
was  magnificent;  his  delivery  Websterian,  every  one 
agreed  to  that,  but  his  sentiments  were  perhaps  better 
unexpressed. 

"  If  Blair  remains  in  the  church  a  year  he  is  doing 
well,"  thought  the  father,  well  satisfied,  previsioning 
Blair  at  work  in  IT'S  office. 

Carrhart  senior  proved  too  generous  in  his  time 
terms  by  over  a  half.  Doubt  after  doubt  assailed 
Blair  before  five  months  passed  over  his  ordina 
tion.  The  reconciliation  he  had  effected  between 
religion  and  science  proved  of  short  duration;  his 


10  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

mental  life  passed  through  a  new  phase  and  the  scien 
tific  view  of  life  and  dogma  wrought  havoc  to  his 
creed.  The  law  of  Blair's  mind  was  constant  inquiry 
and  incessant  questioning ;  alertness  and  vigilance  were 
necessary  for  his  intellectual  existence. 

"  You  might  better  have  had  your  doubts  before  you 
went  into  the  ministry,"  suggested  his  father  mildly. 

"  My  doubts  have  never  been  inclined  to  accommo 
date  me,"  answered  the  son. 

Moreover  Blair  was  rapidly  becoming- socialistic: 
to  say  that  of  most  men  means  a  few  empty  phrases 
that  glide  off  the  tongue  without  having  touched  the 
heart ;  to  say  it  of  Blair  means  everything.  A  day's 
work  had  called  him  into  the  depths  of  the  city's  most 
degraded  slums,  and  that  evening  saw  the  completion 
of  his  task  in  the  home  of  his  wealthiest  member.  The 
vivid  contrast  made  a  lasting  impression  on  Blair's 
heart.  His  blood  boiled  at  the  pity  of  it ;  repeated 
visits  sent  it  scalding  to  his  heart.  After  awhile  his 
blood  cooled  and  his  thoughts  on  the  subject  grew 
deeper  and  longer. 

To  preach  a  farewell  sermon  that  should  set  forth 
his  radical  views  and  show  why  it  would  be  both  in 
consistent  and  ignoble  for  him  to  abide  longer  within 
the  pale  of  the  church  seemed  to  Blair  to  smack  of  the 
sensational  and  to  offer  a  bid  for  notoriety ;  so  he  re 
signed  as  unostcntatiouslv  as  he  could,  with  the  sim 
ple  announcement  that  he  believed  he  could  serve  the 
God  he  loved  to  better  advantage  elsewhere. 

The  same  inspiration  that  called  Blair  to  the  min 
istry  called  him  away  from  it,  to  fields  afar.  It  was 
now  as  if  the  hand  of  God  were  stretched  out  to  him, 
leading  him  whither  he  was  most  needed.  He  was  as 


THE  THOUGHTS  OF  BLAIR     n 

calm  mentally,  as  peaceful  at  heart,  as  on  that  mem 
orable  June  night  at  the  university. 

"  Well,  Blair,"  said  the  father,  "  I  presume  you  are 
ready  now  for  a  desk  in  the  office.'' 

Blair  shook  his  head  sadly.  "  No,  I  fear  not.  I 
have  been  ranting  about  present-day  evils  and  the 
wrongs  inflicted  on  the  people,  and  I  have  been  taking 
too  many  of  my  facts  from  reading  and  superficial  ob 
servation  ;  I  wish  to  lead  their  life  'and  find  out  for  my 
self.  I  have  a  new  gospel  to  preach  and  I  wish  to 
learn  my  gospel  thoroughly  before  I  preach." 

"  I  hope  that  six  months  of  that  life  will  satisfy  you, 
Blair." 

"  I  have  no  voice  in  the  matter,"  answered  Blair. 

Beyond  the  leaving  of  his  home  and  the  desertion 
of  his  father,  one  thing  only  distressed  Blair  and 
pained  him;  the  new  emprise  demanded  a  devotee  with 
a  single  heart ;  it  required  the  immolation  of  every 
personal  interest;  all  consideration  of  self  and  others 
that  might  tend,  however  slightly,  to  divert  his 
mind  from  his  devotions  must  be  ruthlessly  swept 
aside ;  he  must  leave  Evangeline  and  all  thoughts  of 
her  behind,  to  follow  his  duty.  He  could  not  serve 
Cupid  and  his  mission.  He  might  be  gone  months, 
years,  perhaps  forever,  in  so  far  as  he  knew.  He 
could  not  condemn  her  to  the  hardships  he  must  un 
dergo;  he  dared  not  nurse  the  fond  illusion  that  he 
could  end  his  journey  when  he  chose  to  return  to  .her. 

To  bind  her  to  h;s  uncertain  life  with  a  promise  that 
love  had  given  and  that  time  and  change  and  caution 
might  make  her  regret  was  manifestly  unjust,  even 
cruel.  There  was  no  other  way,  the  enslavement  must 
be  broken.  It  was  a  sacrifice,  equally  great  for  him 
and  for  her,  that  he  must  lay  on  the  altar  of  his  exact- 


12  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ing  cause  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  his  faith.  As  he 
had  said  to  his  father,  he  had  no  voice  in  the  matter ; 
it  was  so  written,  he  was  in  the  hand  of  forces  beyond 
his  control. 

Evangeline  listened  to  Blair's  declaration  with  a 
smiling  face  and  an  aching  heart.  Patiently  and 
meekly  she  heard  him  to  the  end;  and  not  one  single 
word  of  upbraiding  escaped  her  lips.  "  You  know, 
Blair,  that  I  am  willing  to  go  with  you  to  the  end  of 
the  earth,"  was  her  sole  plea. 

He  remained  obdurate.  She  knew  him  too  well  to 
expostulate ;  and  she  bowed,  stunned  and  bruised,  be 
fore  his  inexorable  will.  Through  her  heart,  bursting 
with  love  for  this  strange  Arthur  of  the  industrial  age, 
there  welled  up  a  fervent  Godspeed. 

A  few  days  after  his  separation  from  Evangeline, 
Blair  Carrhart  was  at  work  in  the  North-Western 
Rolling-Mills.  Choice  and  not  chance  had  decided 
both  the  place  and  the  occupation.  It  was  public 
knowledge  that  the  employees  of  the  company  were 
restless  and  dissatisfied ;  and  several  times  the  Chicago 
papers  had  printed  rumors  of  an  approaching  strike. 
The  unions  were  aroused  to  the  point  of  anger,  the  day 
laborers  were  restless ;  both  complained  bitterly  about 
the  disproportion  between  the  work  and  the  pay. 
Moreover,  the  Company  owned  the  homes  of  the  la 
borers,  and  it  was  charged  with  levying  extortionate 
rents.  Over  the  question  of  repairs,  which  were  made 
at  the  expense  of  the  tenant,  a  riot  had  all  but  oc 
curred.  Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration, 
Blair  thought  that  the  North-Western  Rolling-Mills 
offered  peculiar  advantages  for  a  start. 


II 

EVANGELINE'S  VISIT 

EVANGELINE  MARVIN  paced  restlessly  up 
and  down  the  waiting-room  that  guarded  the 
entrance  to  her  father's  private  office.  She 
took  off  her  gloves  and  waved  them,  now  with  one 
hand,  now  with  the  other,  absently  flicking  the  snow  off 
her  gown.  She  seated  herself  near  the  door  of  the 
apartment,  of  which  she  was  the  sole  occupant,  and 
then  she  arose  to  continue  her  fretful  walk.  It  was 
evident  that  she  was  struggling  to  collect  her  thoughts ; 
it  was  equally  evident  that  her  excitement  made  the 
collection  impossible. 

Evangeline  had  come  to  bespeak  her  father's  aid 
for  a  cherished  plan  she  had  in  view,  and  she  wished 
to  present  her  arguments  clearly  and  precisely ;  for  if 
she  was  to  obtain  his  ass'stance,  clearness  and  pre 
cision  were  indispensable  means.  She  previsioned 
her  father  as  he  shook  his  handsome  gray  headv 
stroked  his  silken  gray  mustache  and  remarked : 

"  You're  not  clear,  Van.  I'm  very  busy  this  morn 
ing.  You  must  be  precise." 

She  feared  her  father;  her  heart  misgave  her,  and 
she  was  sorry  that  she  had  come.  No,  she  had  seen 
Blair  Carrhart,  and  her  coming  rejoiced  her.  Then 
she  knew  not  whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry;  as  a  mat 
ter  of  fact  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  tell. 

A  half-hour  ago,  light  of  heart  and  undisturbed,  she 
13 


1 4  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

had  considered  it  fine  fun  to  fight  her  way  against 
wind  and  snow  through  the  town  that  bore  the  family 
name.  Several  times  she  had  slipped  and  fallen ;  but 
with  a  smile  she  had  arisen  to  her  feet  and  struggled 
on,  maintaining  her  balance  with  difficulty. 

She  made  an  attractive  picture  with  that  wild  storm 
for  a  frame.  The  chinchilla  trimmings  on  her  black 
tailor-made  gown,  her  chinchilla  muff  and  collar,  were 
frosted  with  white;  the  snow  sparkled  like  ornaments, 
rare  and  rich,  on  the  crescent  pompadour  of  her  au 
burn  hair,  and  the  flakes  melting  on  the  long  dark 
lashes  made  her  blue  eyes  shine  luminously  through 
the  moisture.  The  wind  had  heightened  her  pink- 
cheeks  to  a  red  not  at  all  unbecoming. 

The  sun  came  out  as  she  progressed,  and  diapered 
the  snow  with  infinite  jewels,  scattered  lavishly.  To 
Evangeline  the  town  of  Marvin  was  not  unattractive 
under  its  dazzling  robe  of  white  that  hid  from  view  its 
multitude  of  sins  against  the  beautiful. 

Then  an  unexpected  incident  disturbed  her  enjoy 
ment  and  took  the  edge  off  her  keen  zest  of  life.  A 
gust  of  wind,  fierce  and  prolonged,  lifted  the  snow 
in  a  drift  and  blotted  out  the  landscape.  A  man  strode 
past  her ;  Evangeline  heard  his  heavy  steps  crunch  the 
snow.  The  gust  died  away ;  the  intcrvenrng  sheet  of 
white  fluttered  to  the  ground.  She  drew  a  deep  and 
prolonged  breath  and  plowed  on,  holding  her  hat 
with  her  hand. 

The  size  of  the  man  attracted  her  attention ;  then 
her  attention  was  transfixed.  She  stood  still ;  surprise 
fastened  her  feet.  Those  broad  shoulders ;  the  huge, 
well-proportioned  frame,  the  peculiarly  long  strides, 
the  back  of  the  head  that  ran  down  straight  and  square 
to  the  nape  of  the  powerful  neck ! 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT  15 

She  smiled  wistfully,  shaking  her  head  and  speak 
ing  a  "  no,  no  "  to  herself.  Nevertheless  she  hastened 
on,  fairly  running.  The  man  climbed  down  a  row  of 
icy  stairs  and  cut  across  the  open  prairie  towards  the 
rolling-mills.  Evangeline  followed.  She  slipped  on 
the  stairs  and  fell.  She  pulled  herself  to  her  feet,  and 
in  desperation,  giving  way  to  impulse,  called  out: 

"Blair!    Blair!" 

Her  voice  was  lost  in  the  bawling  wind. 

The  man  stopped  to  greet  a  toiler  evidently  return 
ing  from  work.  Slowly  his  face  was  turned  towards 
her.  It  was  Blair!  It  was  Blair  Carrhart !  Her 
heart,  throbbing  wildly,  snatched  her  breath. 

Evangeline  Marvin  skimming  across  the  ice  of  the 
prairie  made  Jan  Brodski  wonder  as  he  paused  to  fol 
low  her  flight.  Tugging  at  his  red  beard,  perplexed, 
Jan  went  homewards.  Blair  Carrhart,  innocent  of 
what  Jan  had  seen,  disappeared  in  the  maw  of  the 
mill  and  hurried  to  his  place  before  open-hearth  fur 
nace  No.  5. 

Blair  had  scarcely  faced  the  sweltering  heat  from 
the  furnace,  exposing  his  back  to  the  cold  winds  that 
blew  through  the  open  side  of  the  building,  when 
Evangeline  reached  the  mill  gate. 

The  office  boy  announced  Evangeline's  presence  to 
her  father.  The  president  was  busy  and  his  daughter 
was  obliged  to  wait;  and  the  longer  she  was  kept  in 
waiting  the  greater  grew  her  excitement  and  agita 
tion.  Over  a  week  ago  she  had  heard  from  Blair 
Carrhart's  mother  that  her  son  was  at  work  in  the 
North- Western  Mills,  but  chancing  upon  him  thus  un 
expectedly  had  quite  upset  Evangeline. 

Although  Blair  had  ruthlessly  broken  the  tie  that 
bound  her  to  him,  still  Evangeline  liked  to  feel  that  he 


16  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

was  near  her,  that  she  might  see  him  if  it  were  neces 
sary,  that  an  emergency,  a  crisis,  would  bring  him  to 
her  side.  She  dreaded  the  belief  that  he  had  passed 
out  of  her  life ;  and  her  anxiety  increased  to  positive 
pain  when  Blair  left  Chicago,  and  the  days  waxed  and 
waned  and  brought  not  even  an  indirect  word  con 
cerning  him. 

Social  life — society  in  the  mere  fashionable  sense — 
was  an  empty,  unsatisfying  thing  to  Evangeline,  and 
since  leaving  the  university  she  had  found  an  outlet 
for  her  activities  in  writing  of  one  kind  and  another, 
and  in  settlement  work.  Some  friends  who  had  been 
engaged  in  a  North  Side  Settlement  suggested  that 
they  start  a  new  enterprise  of  their  own  in  Marvin. 
The  suggestion  came  simultaneously  with  her  learn 
ing  of  Blair's  whereabouts  from  his  mother.  Evange 
line  welcomed  the  plan,  trying  hard  to  delude  herself 
with  the  idea  that  no  thought  of  Blair's  entrance  into 
Marvin  had  auqiit  to  do  with  the  welcome.  Finally 
she  was  brave  enough  to  recognize  the  delusion,  then 
she  appeased  her  conscience  with  the  reflection  that 
the  institution  in  itself  would  be  a  noble  thing ;  and 
that  she  and  Blair,  unknown  to  each  other,  in  some 
mysterious  manner  not  clear  to  Evangeline,  might 
work  towards  the  same  end ;  and  beyond  that  she 
dared  not  look. 

Again  she  seated  herself,  again  she  paced  back  and 
forth  in  a  futile  endeavor  to  recall  her  chain  of  care 
fully  prepared  arguments  in  favor  of  the  Settlement ; 
but  the  strong  features  of  Blair's  face  instead  of  the 
arguments  answered  the  call.  If  she  pinned  her 
wandering  mind  down  to  a  familiar  phrase  or  a  conned 
sentence,  Blair  arose  and  drew  the  pin  away. 

The  office  door  opened.    Several  men  in  slouch  hats 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT          17 

and  woolen  shirts  filed  out.  When  Evangeline  en 
tered,  her  father  was  tipped  back  on  his  swivel-chair, 
his  hands  crossed  behind  his  head,  gazing  wearily  at 
the  ceiling  and  yawning.  The  inverted  V-shaped 
wrinkle  that  sloped  down  his  broad  forehead  towards 
the  bridge  of  his  firm  well-set  nose,  smoothed  out  and 
gave  way  to  a  faint  smile  when  his  daughter  ap 
proached. 

"So  it's  you,  Van,  is  it?"  he  said  pleasantly. 

"  Yes.  You  seem  tired  already  and  the  day's  just 
begun,"  she  remarked,  sympathetically. 

"Hm!  Not  exactly  tired;  but  I  have  just  had  a 
troublesome  wrangle  about  wages  with  the  men.  You 
chose  a  bad  day  to  come  way  out  here.  What  brings 
you?" 

"  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  about  something,"  she  an 
swered,  toying  with  her  muff. 

"  How  did  you  get  in  ?  " 

"  The  gatekeeper  let  me  in." 

"Without  a  pass?" 

"  Yes." 

"  That's  against  the  rules,"  and  he  jotted  down  a 
note  concerning  the  gatekeeper's  negligence  on  the 
square  pad  in  front  of  him.  "  Nbw,  Van,  to  the  point. 
I'm  fearfully  busy;  if  I  had  time  to  spare  I'd  rather 
spend  it  with  you  than  anybody;  but  I  haven't  a  sec 
ond,"  he  said,  facing  his  littered  table  suggestively. 

"  You  never  have  a  second  to  spare ;  you're  worse 
than  your  Swiss  watch,"  she  sighed,  her  face  shading 
to  a  rather  sad  pensiveness.  It  was  an  unusually  bold 
statement  for  her,  and,  after  she  had  spoken,  she  was 
surprised  at  her  own  temerity. 

Parental  love  had  always  been  meted  out  to  Evange 
line  meagerly  and  the  lack  of  it  had  threatened  to  kill 


1 8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  budding  tenderness  of  her  young  soul.  It  was  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  her  love  for  Blair  was  well- 
nigh  consuming;  he  had  been  her  all  in  all;  her  world ; 
she  had  none  else  to  love  beside  him.  Marriage  had 
been  a  failure,  bleak  and  dire,  for  her  parents,  and  the 
two  drifted  farther  and  farther  apart  as  the  years 
went  on,  and  Evangeline  was  left  to  her  own  resources 
in  the  widening  breach.  Her  mother  brooded  over  her 
husband's  desertion,  and  when  she  discovered  that  she 
was  wife  in  name  alone,  her  fitful  nervousness  be 
came  a  settled  melanchol:a  from  which  she  sought 
escape  in  the  horrible  refuge  of  drugs. 

Evangeline  revered  her  father  for  the  very  qualities 
which  kept  her  yearning  fondness  unsatisfied  and  at 
bay,  the  mighty  masculinity  of  his  character,  his 
singleness  of  purpose,  his  derision  of  obstacles,  his 
indomitable  persistence  in  the  mastery  of  industry.  Yet 
he  had  never  understood  her,  apparently  caring  little 
whether  he  did  or  not ;  he  was  never  interested  in  the 
chief  concerns  of  her  life.  His  very  caresses  were  be 
stowed  as  if  they  had  been  measured  out  writh  a  calcu 
lation  aforethought. 

All  her  life  long  Evangeline  had  the  tantalizing 
sense  of  losing  something,  missing  something,  which 
was  as  essential  to  the  spirit  as  breath  to  the  blood. 
Her  deprivation  was  the  more  agonizing  because  she 
knew  this  something  was  the  common  heritage  of  hu 
manity  denied  only  in  the  instance  of  the  abnormal  and 
the  unnatural. 

With  what  different  colors  was  the  world  tinged 
when  the  love  of  Blair  entered  her  heart,  filled  it,  and 
drove  out  its  gloom !  It  was  terrible,  tragic,  to  love  as 
she  had ;  and  she  discovered  the  terribleness  of  the 
tragedy  only  when  he  separated  from  her,  when  the 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT  19 

world  wore  sable  again,  and  the  old  morbid  gloom 
oppressed  her  heart,  crowding  into  the  nooks  and  cor 
ners  from  which  his  love  had  lured  it. 

Henry  Marvin  picked  up  a  document,  bound  like  a 
lawyer's  brief,  and  laid  it  down  on  the  table,  with  a 
slight  start.  "  I'm  sorry  to  be  short,"  he  said  in  kindly 
tones,  stroking  his  silvery  mustache,  "  but  I  have  an 
important  appointment  at  eleven  sharp;  and  it  lacks 
but  a  quarter  of  that  now.''  He  gazed  wearily  at  the 
oblong  cherry  wood  regulator,  like  a  man  whose  life  is 
tyrannized  over  by  a  clock  and  who  is  powerless  to 
prevent  the  tyranny. 

Evangeline  hastened  to  express  the  purpose  of  her 
mission.  When  put  to  the  test,  as  so  often  happens, 
her  fears  proved  groundless,  her  nervousness  van 
ished;  every  thought  of  Blair  disappeared  as  she  met 
her  father's  cold  penetrating  eyes,  and  she  presented 
her  arguments  in  their  rehearsed  consecution. 

Henry  Marvin  nodded  slightly,  as  if  to  show  that 
he  was  following,  and  he  strummed  on  the  table  with 
the  tips  of  his  fingers :  in  reality,  as  soon  as  he  learned 
what  her  desire  was,  he  had  ceased  to  listen ;  for  he 
had  already  labeled  the  thing  with  his  broad  mental 
veto  of  what  he  was  fond  of  terming  "  fancy  busi 
ness." 

"  Well,"  he  commented,  when  she  had  done,  "  I'll 
have  to  look  into  that  at  my  leisure.  I  expect  to  have 
time  to-night  at  home."  He  looked  up  at  the  clock. 
It  pointed  five  minutes  to  eleven.  "  I  think  I'll  tele 
phone  for  a  carriage  and  send  you  home." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  don't  wish  to  go  home,"  she  objected. 
"  I  wish  to  £0  through  the  mills  first." 

"  I'd  rather  have  you  go  home,  Van ;  it's  dangerous 
out  there;  one  can  never  tell  what " 


20  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  I  know,  but  I  can  be  careful,"  she  pleaded.  She 
visioned  Blair  at  work  out  there,  and  she  would  see 
him  somewhere,  she  must. 

Gazing  at  the  regulator  apprehensively,  Marvin  did 
not  listen. 

The  side  door  of  the  room  adjoining  Marvin's  office 
opened,  and  Walter  Putnam,  the  treasurer  of  the  Com 
pany,  stepped  in.  He  bowed  to  Evangeline,  extending 
his  hand. 

"  Putnam,"  spoke  up  Marvin,  "  my  daughter  wants 
to  go  through  the  mills.  Can  you  spare  time  to  guide 
her?" 

"  Yes,  gladly,"  he  answered,  and  his  expressionless 
countenance  lighting  up,  showed  that  the  gladness  was 
keenly  felt  as  well  as  enthusiastically  spoken.  The 
office  boy  announced  that  there  were  people  in  wait 
ing.  Putnam  and  Evangeline  started  towards  the 
yards. 

Evangeline  knew  Walter  Putnam  well,  or  rather  she 
had  met  him  often,  and  she  regarded  him  as  a  zero — 
a  negative  quantity — in  the  number  of  her  acquaint 
ances  ;  she  was  no  more  aware  of  his  presence  than 
conscious  of  his  absence.  She  associated  with  his 
name  a  tall,  thin  form,  stick-like  in  its  proportions  and 
carriage,  a  smooth  young-old  face,  and  a  capacity  for 
business  that  had  won  him  high  position  in  her  father's 
company ;  such  was  Walter  Putnam  to  her.  Putnam, 
on  the  other  hand,  mistaking  Evangeline's  gracious 
affability  for  affection,  considered  that  he  ranked  high, 
if  not  highest  in  her  esteem,  and  he  was  rejoiced  over 
his  rank.  She  was  rich,  pretty,  intelligent — the  three 
very  modern  graces,  and  the  smallest  of  these  is  intelli 
gence — and  a  marriage  with  her  would  give  Putnam's 
inordinate  ambition  the  place  it  craved  in  both  the 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT          21 

social  and  the  financial  world; — Marvin's  mills  were 
the  whole  world  of  finance  to  Putnam.  He  was  wait 
ing  for  a  propitious  moment  to  propose ;  and  somehow 
every  moment  save  the  propitious  one  came;  but  Put 
nam  had  long  ago  learned  the  lesson  of  laboring  and 
waiting. 

Evangeline  and  her  guide  moved  down  the  office 
stairs  and  into  the  yards  of  the  mill.  Towards  the 
lake,  far  as  the  eye  could  follow,  extended  an  inter 
minable  row  of  high  round  chimneys  that  broke  the 
sky  above  them  into  a  line  as  jagged  as  the  blade  of  a 
great  saw.  They  loomed  forth  against  the  heavens 
like  the  preserved  pillars  amid  the  ruins  of  some  an 
cient  temple — a  temple  consecrated  to  the  modern 
worship  of  the  ancient  Mammon. 

Evangeline  listened  to  Putnam's  lucid  explanation 
of  the  machinery  as  they  went  from  building  to  build 
ing,  with  an  absent  nod  of  the  head,  much  like  her 
father's.  The  marvelous  mechanical  processes  seemed 
to  interest  her  but  little;  for  she  kept  looking  away 
from  the  mills  at  the  men  as  if  in  search  for  somebody ; 
and  Putnam's  restless,  inquiring  eyes  peered  at  her 
over  his  glasses  wonderingly.  Luckily  the  din  and 
roar  precluded  much  conversation  and  Evangeline 
was  allowed  to  dream  on  without  interruption. 

They  reached  the  plate-mill.  Sheltered  by  a  project 
ing  angle  of  the  wall,  she  saw  the  heavy  scarlet  slabs 
of  steel  pass  groaning  under  the  rolls,  returning  thin 
ner  and  thinner,  changing  from  scarlet  to  saffron, 
spreading  out  like  dough  under  the  pressure  of  a 
rolling-pin. 

"  Watch  now !  "  said  Putnam  suddenly. 

Evangeline  turned  in  time  to  catch  sight  of  a  man 
throwing  a  shovelful  of  salt  over  the  red-hot  sur- 


22  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

face  of  the  attenuated  plate ;  there  came  a  deafening 
clap  as  of  thunder,  and  a  magenta  efflorescence  spread 
between  the  rolls.  As  she  watched  the  great  electric 
magnets  pick  up  the  cold  drab  sheets,  weighing  tons, 
and  carry  them  away  towards  the  cutting-machines, 
much  as  a  toy  magnet  might  carry  a  pin,  Evangeline, 
in  her  admiring  wonder,  even  forgot  to  look  for  Blair. 
They  were  in  the  open  air  of  the  yards  before  she  had 
time  to  look  around,  and  her  heart  sank,  fearing  she 
mght  have  missed  him. 

They  entered  the  ground  floor  of  the  open-hearth 
furnaces,  littered  with  piles  of  scrap,  parts  of  dis 
carded  machinery,  cars  of  molds  and  pyramids  of 
dross ;  amid  which  the  toilers  loomed  up  like  grass 
hoppers  in  a  summer  field,  insignificant  and  small. 

"  Are  you  going  to  pour  soon  ?  "  asked  Putnam  of 
Bach,  the  German  superintendent. 

"Yah,  in  von  minute — de  last  furnace,"  he  touched, 
his  hat  respectfully  and  moved  on,  puffing  heavily. 

Out  of  two  high  wooden  horses  and  heavy  planks 
some  eight  or  ten  men  were  hastily  constructing  the 
tapping-platform  in  the  portion  of  the  pit  that  fronted 
the  last  furnace.  They  could  hear  Bach's  guttural 
voice  shouting  peremptory  directions.  Evangeline 
drew  nearer,  with  the  faint  hope  that  she  might  dis 
cover  Blair  among  the  men. 

The  pitmen,  lifting  a  long  iron  bar,  mounted  the 
platform.  They  were  on  a  level  with  the  tapping-hole 
of  the  furnace,  and  they  began  to  prod  through  the 
dolomite  to  let  the  steel  escape.  They  threw  the  bar 
down,  jumped  to  the  ground,  and  hastened  to  pull  the 
platform  away  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  great 
ladle,  now  being  swung  forward  by  the  overhead 
crane.  Every  part  of  the  work  must  be  done  like 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT          23 

lightning;  in  less  than  twelve  minutes  the  metal  may 
become  too  cold  to  pour  from  the  receiving  ladle  into 
the  molds  that  stand  in  the  pit. 

"  Mein  Got,  vy  don't  you  fellers  vatch  out !  ''  Evan- 
geline  heard  Bach's  bawling  voice  and  simultaneously 
an  ominous  fearful  crash.  She  did  her  best  to  turn 
away,  but  she  was  fascinated  and  could  not.  Putnam 
shut  his  eyes,  biting  his  under  lip.  Evangeline  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands.  Heart-rending  groans  were 
palpitating  through  the  pit,  and  the  laborers  were 
rushing  in  all  directions,  screaming,  gesticulating,  their 
faces  stiff  with  horror.  The  men,  in  their  hurry,  had 
not  worked  in  unison  and  two  of  them  had  been 
crushed  by  the  unwieldy  planks  when  the  horses  were 
jerked  from  under.  Shrieking  whistles  blew  to  sum 
mon  the  "  sailor-gang "  to  help  clear  away  the  ob 
struction  and  get  the  ladle  in  front  of  the  furnaces 
before  the  steel  was  wasted  in  the  sand  of  the  pit.  The 
men  toiled  like  demons  to  lift  the  crushing1  planks  off 
their  unfortunate  comrades.  Bach  was  on  his  knees, 
his  pot-belly  almost  touching  the  sand  as  he  bent  com- 
miseratingly  over  the  wounded.  The  doctor  rushed 
over  from  the  hospital,  which  stood  just  back  of  the 
offices.  Already  the  photographers  swooped  down 
with  their  cameras — pictures  were  as  indispensable 
as  lawyers  in  case  of  suits  against  the  Company. 

Evangeline's  gloves  were  off,  her  muff  and  collar 
on  the  ground,  and  without  being  able  to  tell  how  she 
arrived  there,  she  was  at  Bach's  side,  not  an  inch  from 
the  wounded.  A  piece  of  sharp  protruding  slag  had 
torn  a  long  rent  in  her  gown. 

Bach  glanced  up,  the  end  of  his  pointed  beard  be 
tween  his  teeth ;  then  he  held  the  head  of  one  of  the 
wounded  men. 


24  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Go  away,  miss ;  we  can't  have  you  here,"  said  the 
young  doctor,  kindly  but  positively. 

Putnam  touched  Evangeline's  arm.  She  followed 
him,  sobbing,  not  caring,  not  heeding  where  she  went, 
like  a  child  trundled  in  its  carriage  by  a  nurse.  They 
were  out  in  the  yards,  standing  near  a  range  of  car 
tracks  that  ran  into  the  ground  floor  of  the  open- 
hearth. 

'  You  are  the  bravest  woman  I  ever  knew/'  he  said. 

She  gave  no  answer  to  his  compliment,  honestly 
won,  sincerely  paid;  remaining  silent,  her  face  drawn, 
white,  painfully  pensive.  He  attempted  to  soothe 
her.  It  was  terrible  enough  ;  but  not  so  bad  as  might 
appear  on  the  surface.  The  men  were  not  dangerously 
hurt ;  in  all  probabilities  the  doctors  would  have  them 
back  to  work  in  a  day  of  two.  The  accident  happened 
frequently  in  the  same  way.  The  Company  used  every 
precaution,  but  the  men  were  careless.  What  could 
they  do? 

She  stooped  over  and  pinned  the  rent  in  her  gown. 
The  pink  color  returned  to  her  cheeks ;  her  under- 
lip  quivered  the  least  bit.  "  I  think  we  had  better  go 
back,"  she  said,  quietly. 

The  suggestion  was  not  a  welcome  one  to  Putnam ; 
he  had  not  had  a  chance  to  say  the  many  things  in  his 
mind,  not  even  to  approach  them  remotely ;  and  a 
month  might  pass  before  he  would  see  her  again. 

"If  you  like,  but  we  might  see  the  charging-floor  of 
the  open-hearth  first ;  it's  pleasant  there  and  interest 
ing;  besides  it  won't  take  but  a  minute  or  two." 

Tactfully,  almost  without  Evangeline's  knowledge, 
certainly  without  her  acquiescence,  he  led  her  around 
the  pit  that  they  had  just  left  to  an  iron  stairway, 
which  they  climbed  to  reach  the  floor  above.  As 


EVANGELINE'S  VISIT  25 

they  mounted  Evangeline  gazed  down  in  front  of  the 
furnace  where  the  deplorable  accident  had  occurred. 
She  observed  that  the  debris  had  been  removed,  and 
that  the  work  was  going  on  as  if  nothing  had  marred 
its  progress.  The  wounded  men  were  in  the  hospital. 
Doctor  and  photographers  had  vanished.  In  a  long 
carmine  line  the  steel  was  dropping  from  the  ladle 
into  the  molds. 


Ill 

SIGHING  FURNACES 

EYANGELINE  had  scarcely  followed  Walter 
Putnam  into  the  open-hearth  building  again, 
when  Blair  Carrhart,  standing  before  fur 
nace  No.  5,  raised  his  hand;  the  boy  turned  the 
pneumatic  cock  and  the  wide  door  opened.  A 
white  glare  as  from  a  close  row  of  powerful  arc 
lamps  glimmered  down  the  charging-floor.  The  men 
scurried  back  and  forth  to  the  white  pile  of  lime, 
magnasite  and  dolomite,  pitching  shovelfuls  of 
the  materials  into  the  furnace.  Their  faces,  their 
bare  arms,  their  whole  bodies  shone  as  radiantly 
as  if  calcium  lights  had  been  turned  full  upon 
them.  In  fact  the  whole  scene  was  theatrical,  and  in 
spiring;  the  action  was  dramatic;  it  seemed  as  if  the 
melters,  in  their  celerity,  were  at  work  in  quenching 
a  destructive  fire  instead  of  building  bottom  for  pro 
ductive  furnaces.  The  setting  was  vast,  Wagnerian. 
Ladles  of  thirtv  tons  capacity  whirled  overhead,  carry 
ing  hot  metal  from  the  blast  to  the  open-hearth  fur 
naces  ;  charging  cranes  rumbled  along  the  tracks  on 
the  ground ;  traveling  cranes  rumbled  on  the  tracks 
overhead.  Engines  puffed  up  the  incl'ned  planes 
dragging  cars  filled  with  iron  stock  along  the  floor. 
There  were  ten  furnaces;  ten  centers  of  action,  and  yet 
the  magnificent  unity  was  unimpaired.  Through  the 

26 


SIGHING  FURNACES  27 

open  side  of  the  building  the  wind  blew,  with  a'  cold 
cutting  sweep,  and  the  snow  fell  gently,  and  heaped 
on  the  platform  outside. 

Blair  was  drenched  with  sweat;  it  poured  down  his 
face  and  filled  his  shoes.  He  walked  to  the  locker, 
changed  his  dripping  clothes ;  and  throwing  a  coat 
over  his  shoulders  to  project  them  from  the  glacial 
wind,  he  sat  down  on  the  bench  near  the  pneumatic 
cocks. 

"  The  last  heat  was  scorched,"  complained  the  first 
melter,  coming  forward,  nibbling  at  his  plug  of  to 
bacco,  "  and  we're  out  on  sixty  tons.  [They  were 
tonnage  men — men  paid  by  the  ton.]  They  had 
an  accident  down-stairs,  some  one  was  hurt — I 
don't  know  just  what  it  was.  But  by  God,  Carr- 
hart,  it  ain't  right;  it  wasn't  our  fault.  We  done 
our  work  all  right  and  up  to  the  handle.  How  long 
are  the  men  going  to  stand  for  this  deal?  We're  out 
two  days  of  the  seven  now  and  the  week's  near  up. 
One  way  and  the  other  it's  the  same  with  the  rest  of 
the  boys.  I  don't  know  how  they  reckon,  but  their 
arithmetic  ain't  the  same  in  the  office  as  the  one  I 
learned  at  school.  I  ain't  the  kicking  kind,  but  by  God 
this  thing  ain't  right  and  it  ought  to  quit,  Carrhart.  I'll 
leave  it  to  you  if  I  ain't  right?  It's  about  time  they 
quit  it ;"  and  McNaughton  ceased  his  maundering, 
rubbed  his  sandy  mustache  with  the  hard  palm  of  his 
hand,  and,  putting  on  his  blue  goggles,  he  shambled 
over  to  the  furnace. 

McNaughton  looked  through  the  peep-hole  of  the 
door  into  the  brewing  steel.  He  raised  his  hand ;  the 
pull-up  boy  lifted  the  door,  and  the  head  melter,  avert 
ing  his  face  from  the  onslaught  of  overpowering  heat, 
stirred  the  steel  with  the  long  iron  rabbler. 


28  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Catch  on  to  the  dame  with  the  red  hair,"  and  the 
second  helper,  seated  beside  Blair,  nudged  him  with 
his  elbow. 

Blair  was  dreaming  a  day  dream.  "  Eh  ?  ''  he  quer 
ied,  awakening  with  a  start. 

"  There,"  pointed  Quinn,  the  second  helper,  "  we'll 
have  a  white  horse  up  here  in  a  minute." 

"  White  horse!  White  horse!  "  cried  the  pull-up  boy 
at  the  pneumatic  cocks. 

Blair  saw.  It  was  Evangeline.  He  stood  up.  The 
blood  hammered  at  his  ears.  His  impulse  was  to  rush 
towards  her;  but  restraining  himself,  he  resumed  his 
seat. 

"  You're  blushing  like  a  girl.  What's  wrong  with 
you?  I  s'pose  you're  changing  your  face  to  match 
her  hair.  Ain't  much  used  to  maidens,  are  you  ?  " 
Ouinn's  long,  melancholy  face  gave  the  lie  to  his 
waggish  tendencies. 

McNaughton,  the  head  melter,  dripping  with  sweat, 
crossed  the  tracks.  He  tossed  the  rabbler  on  the  floor 
wearily  and  sank  on  the  bench.  Stray  flakes  of  snow 
dropped  on  the  red-hot  bar  and  melted  with  a  sizz. 

"  Better  go  up  in  front,  Carrhart.  and  get  things 
ready."  McNaughton  glanced  at  his  watch.  The 
charging-car  whirled  past,  almost  touching  the  feet 
of  the  men  seated  on  the  bench,  and  rolled  on  to  the 
end  of  the  long  floor. 

Seemingly  Blair  did  not  hear  the  order.  "  Let  him 
alone,"  jibed  Quinn,  "  he's  got  his  eye  on  the  red 
head  maid.  Ain't  bad,  is  she?  She'd  match  with  me 
and  my  Sunday  clothes,  eh,  McXaughton  ?  " 

McNaughton  bit  a  corner  out  of  his  plug.  "  Oh, 
she!  she's  Marvin's  daughter,  so  one  of  the  boys  was 
telling  me." 


SIGHING  FURNACES  29 

"  Don't  say  ?  Well,  Carrhart,  there's  your  chance ; 
you  don't  get  them  kind  often.  The  mills'll  go  to  the 
feller  that  gets  the  red  hair,  I  guess.  You  kin  make 
McNaughton  secretary  and  me  treasurer.  I'll  do 
what's  right  with  the  boys  when  it  comes  to  divying 
the  coin." 

Evangeline  turned.  She  saw  Blair;  their  eyes  met. 
He  arose  and  moved  towards  her,  irresistibly  drawn. 
His  strong  body  trembled;  his  legs  jerked  as  if  they 
would  pull  him  backwards.  He  made  a  sharp  detour 
to  his  furnace. 

McNaughton  and  Quinn  laughed ;  they  thought 
Blair  was  pretending  to  carry  out  the  joke. 

Evangeline  stood  still,  breathing  heavily  through 
her  distended  nostrils ;  her  eyes  closed  and  opened  as 
one  blinking  under  a  light  too  strong.  Putnam  was 
unable  to  discover  what  attracted  her. 

The  charging-crane  whirled  up  to  the  cars,  bur 
dened  with  stock  for  its  iron  arm  to  toss  into  the  fur 
nace. 

"  Move  back !  "  shouted  Putnam,  "  the  crane  is 
coming."  He  repeated  his  warning  the  second  time, 
louder.  He  tugged  her  by  the  arm ;  she  followed  him 
as  a  car  follows  a  pulling  engine,  as  if  she  had  no  vo 
lition  of  her  own. 

Blair  was  peering  through  the  peep-hole  of  the 
door;  his  thoughts  seething  like  the  steel  at  which  he 
was  gazing.  Putnam  touched  him  on  the  shoulder. 
"  Will  you  kindly  let  me  have  your  goggles  for  a 
minute?  this  young  lady  wants  to  take  a  look." 

Blair  removed  his  goggles.  Evangeline  was  not 
ten  feet  away.  She  advanced  towards  him,  her  de 
mure  face  sternly  set,  like  one  nerved  for  an  under 
taking  that  strains  the  will.  Putnam  looked  on, 


30  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

fairly  appalled :  he  took  the  goggles  from  Blair's  fum 
bling  hand. 

"  Blair,"  murmured  Evangeline,  with  quavering 
voice,  laying  her  gloved  finder  on  the  sleeve  of  his 
blouse.  She  could  say  no  more ;  phrases,  words,  sen 
tences  swirled  through  her  mind  as  the  snow  was  swirl 
ing  through  the  darkling  atmosphere  without. 
"  Blair ;  "  that  was  all  she  could  utter,  she  who  all 
morning  long,  over  and  over  and  over  again,  had  re 
peated  to  herself  what  she  would  say  to  him,  should 
they  chance  to  meet ;  she  who  intended  to  say  that  she 
had  come  thither  on  that  wintry  morning  merely  be 
cause  she  was  impelled  by  the  hope,  impossible  to  defer 
longer  unless  her  heart  was  to  grow  sick,  of  seeing 
him ;  she  who  intended  to  pour  out  her  love  for  him 
in  one  rapturous  burst ;  and  now  she  must  stand  there 
dumb  and  stupid,  with  that  one  word  trembling  coldly 
on  her  lips. 

There  came  a  whist  in  the  clatter  and  roar ;  every 
thing  seemed  still ;  then  the  charging-cars  whirled  up 
and  down  the  floor ;  the  engines  puffed  along  the  in 
cline,  steaming  in  and  out  of  the  building;  the  crane 
whirled  overhead  and  the  massy  ladle  plunged  through 
the  air,  like  some  monstrous,  gigantic  bird  of  the  pre 
historic  era. 

Blair's  mighty  chest  heaved,  the  vein  in  his  forehead 
empurpled.  His  eyes  fastened  on  her  as  if  they  were 
two  arms  that  would  draw  her  -to  him  lovingly.  He 
could  feel  Putnam's  sharp  restless  eyes  prod  through 
him  as  they  looked  over  the  top  of  his  large  glasses. 
He  struggled  for  a  word,  a  phrase  that  might  divulge 
all  to  her  and  remain  as  a  riddle  to  the  intruder.  He 
was  silent,  blushing,  confused,  lost.  He  could  say 
nothing;  not  one  word. 


SIGHING  FURNACES  31 

"  Oh,  Carrhart,  hurry  up  and  go  in  front,"  bawled 
McNaughton,  who  knew  not  the  tragi-comedy  play 
ing  there. 

Blair  obeyed  his  superior's  order,  his  head  bent  to 
the  ground.  There  was  a  curse,  then  a  blessing;  a 
blessing  again,  and  then  a  final  curse  in  his  throat  for 
McNaughton, 

Putnam  handed  Evangeline  the  goggles.  He  was 
completely  master  of  himself ;  there  was  nothing  either 
in  his  look  or  manner  to  show  that  he  was  curious, 
even  surprised.  Evangeline,  blushing  scarlet,  gazed 
through  the  peep-hole  into  the  furnace.  The  sea  of 
steel  bubbled  and  boiled  and  seethed,  like  some  sub 
terranean  lake,  colored  a  delicate  violet,  dainty  as 
the  gauze  of  Ariel's  garment;  and  the  waters  of  the 
sea,  in  the  cerulean  haze  that  hid  the  sides  of  the  fur 
nace,  seemed  boundless  in  length,  stretching  towards 
the  sky-line  of  an  horizon  far  off. 

Long  afterwards,  faintly,  and  as  in  a  dream,  Evan 
geline  recalled  the  magic  beauty  of  what  she  then  be 
held;  but  at  that  time  it  made  no  vivid,  no  conscious 
impression.  Blair  had  scorned  her !  He  had  refused 
to  recognize  her !  He  had  gazed  at  her  coldly,  as  with 
eyes  of  glass !  The  poignant  pain  in  her  mind  and 
heart  blotted  out  all  things  else,  making  its  own  nar 
row  confines  beyond  which  she  was  powerless  to 
move. 

When  Blair  returned  from  his  work  in  front  of  the 
furnace  Evangeline  was  moving  down  the  iron  stair 
way  with  her  guide.  She  had  an  explanation  for 
Putnam,  a  half-truthful  story  to  account  for  her  sin 
gular  acquaintanceship  with  one  Blair  Carrhart,  first 
helper  to  the  head  melter;  but  scorning  to  tell  even  a 
white  lie,  she  vouchsafed  no  information.  Putnam 


32  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

might  think  as  he  chose ;  after  all  the  affair  concerned 
her  and  not  him. 

Quinn  jumped  up  from  his  bench,  not  the  shade  of 
a  smile  on  his  long,  melancholy  face,  and  he  extended 
his  hand  to  Blair.  "  That  looked  like  business  there 
for  a  minute,  old  boy.  I  congratulate  you.  I  guess 
you  got  Marvin's  maid  hypnotized.  When  do  I  get 
the  treasurership  ?  " 

Blair  looked  at  him,  appealingly,  pathetically,  in  a 
way  that  made  Quinn  wonder.  Then  he  sank  on  the 
bench,  resting  his  chin  on  his  hand.  His  thoughts 
followed  Evangeline. 


IV 
THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS 

EVANGELINE,  on  her  arrival  at  the  office  with 
Putnam,  was  informed  that  the  president  was 
busy  and  likely  to  remain  so  until  late  in  the 
afternoon.  She  left  the  mills,  recalling  that  she 
had  an  appointment  with  friends,  which  must  be  kept 
at  all  hazards,  to  look  for  a  house  that  would  an 
swer  the  purposes  of  their  Settlement. 

It  was  after  five,  and  dark,  when  Evangeline  re 
turned  from  her  quest  towards  the  mill  gate.  Heavy 
billows  of  smoke,  turbined,  thick  as  dust  clouds, 
whirled  upwards  as  if  anxious  to  blot  out  the  pale 
stars.  Columns  of  white  steam  shot  through  the 
cloud  bank  of  ebony  like  so  many  silver  ropes ;  yellow 
eddies,  tawny,  sulphurous,  bubbled  and  played 
through  the  drapery  of  white  and  black. 

Out  from  the  blast-furnaces  flames  of  scarlet  poured 
as  steadily,  as  brilliantly  as  from  the  fires  of  a  live 
volcano.  Further  towards  the  south,  on  the  extreme 
edge  of  the  ebony  embankment,  there  flashed  and 
burst  a  shower  of  star-shaped,  star-hued  sparks 
through  the  hollow,  luridly  white  light  that  spurted 
out  from  the  converters. 

It  seemed  like  the  extravagant  revelry  of  a  mad 
artist  whose  shades  and  paints  were  infinite, — some 
delirious,  Cyclopean  Turner  bent  on  coloring  the  uni- 
3  33 


34  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

verse  in  harmony  with  the  drunken  flights  of  his  mad 
fancy. 

Just  across  the  road  twinkled  the  lamps  of  the 
squalid  street — a  thoroughfare  jammed  with  saloons 
and  saloons  and  saloons  again, — pushing  elbow  to  el 
bow  in  fierce  competition  for  the  trade  of  the  toilers 
of  the  mill. 

Her  father  and  her  twin  brothers  were  just  stepping 
into  the  carriage  as  Evangeline  hurried  along.  The 
coachman  caught  sight  of  her,  touched  his  hat  with 
his  whip  and  waited.  Her  father  greeted  her  pleas 
antly  ;  then  he  lapsed  into  silence,  looking  distraught 
and  preoccupied.  The  twins  dealt  sundry  sly  kicks 
and  pinches  to  their  sister  whenever  they  thought 
themselves  able  to  evade  their  father's  glances. 

The  carriage  had  barely  left  the  mill  gate  to  take 
the  Marvins  homeward,  when  Blair  Carrhart  quit  his 
post,  glad  that  the  work  for  the  day  was  over,  craving 
the  quiet  that  he  might  surrender  himself  to  an  un 
interrupted  reflection  on  the  stirring  incident  which 
marked  that  day. 

His  heart  was  as  depressed  as  Evangeline's,  per 
haps  heavier  and  more  gloomy,  she  at  least  could  lay 
the  flattering  unction  to  her  soul  that  she  was  pun 
ished  by  the  fault  of  another.  Without  excuse,  with 
out  reason,  he  had  bruised  a  tender  and  loving  soul. 
Could  she  know  how  he  had  yearned  to  speak  ?  Would 
she  take  his  silence  for  reproof,  for  scorn  ? 

Why  had  he  not  seized  the  golden  moment  and 
spoken?  Evangeline  had  been  brave,  candid,  oblivi 
ous  of  petty  circumstances,  of  curious  intruders,  the 
mistress  instead  of  the  slave  of  paltry  and  irrelevant 
circumstances.  She  had  acted  the  man's  part ;  he,  the 
woman's. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS     35 

Nevertheless  there  was  some  excuse.  It  had  all 
come  too  quickly,  too  unexpectedly;  he  was  stunned, 
dumfounded.  Perhaps  she  had  been  prepared  for  the 
meeting.  Did  she  know  that  he  was  in  the  mills? 
Had  the  hope  of  seeing  him  brought  her  thither? 
Would  she  come  again  ? 

He  tried  to  tell  himself  that  he  hoped  she  would  not. 
His  purpose  was  trembling  in  the  balance.  He  had 
thought  himself  strong,  able  to  resist  temptation,  and 
she  had  come  to  prove  him  weak.  By  pure  force  of 
will  he  had  endeavored  to  put  all  thought  of  her  be 
hind  him,  and  now  his  mission,  the  mills,  everything 
sank  into  insignificance  and  she  alone  stood  in  front 
of  him.  He  was  unable  to  divorce  her  from  any 
thought  of  the  future. 

He  would  go  back ;  he  would  tell  her  that  the  sacri 
fice  was  uselessly  cruel,  that  any  duty  which  de 
manded  the  slaughter  of  their  loves  was  the  barbarous 
sacrifice  demanded  by  a  false  God.  He  would  leave 
for  home  that  night;  to-morrow,  the  next  day,  might 
be  too  late.  Repulsed  by  his  seeming  indifference, 
wounded  by  his  apparent  rebuff,  she  would  bend  her 
affections  away  from  him  to  where  appreciation  would 
take  them  at  their  sterling  worth.  Life  without  her 
was  empty,  futile,  impossible.  He  would  go  back! 
He  would  go  back! 

It  was  a  sleepless  night  for  Blair;  even  the  fatigue 
of  his  body  did  not  overcome  the  wakefulness  of  his 
mind,  and  distraction  tossed  and  tumbled  him  to  and 
fro.  Towards  morning  he  grew  calmer ;  his  turbid 
mind  became  clearer ;  he  was  resigned  to  the  fact  that 
life  for  him  was  not  meant  to  be  easy,  that  renuncia 
tion  was  the  iron  law  of  his  existence,  and  that  he 


36  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

could  never  enter  the  ranks  of  the  contented  by  de 
serting  his  duty. 

In  the  swift  journey  of  Blair's  thoughts  Evange- 
line's  visit  marked  the  time  of  events  as  the  sight  of 
a  mile-post  from  the  window  of  a  train  speaks  to  the 
traveler  of  distances  traversed.  The  short  time  that 
he  had  been  away  from  home  seemed  as  the  space  of 
years  until  the  actuality  dawned  upon  him  now  with 
a  shock. 

It  was  but  a  month  ago,  on  one  night  in  November, 
that  Blair  Carrhart  had  stood  without  the  mill  gate 
in  quest  of  work.  Around  the  fence  that  separated 
the  mills  from  the  rest  of  the  world  a  handful  of  men, 
mostly  foreigners,  had  gathered  for  the  same  purpose. 
How  unable  he  had  been  to  assume  their  stolid  looks 
and  their  indifferent  attitude  towards  this  new  and 
wonderful  world  aglow  with  variant  color,  resound 
ing  with  the  mighty  roar  of  machinery  in  creative 
motion !  To  his  ardent  glances  what  magic  vistas  of 
the  unseen  and  the  inexperienced  had  opened ! 

Finally  a  foreman  had  come  and  made  his  selec 
tions,  picking  out  the  strongest  and  ablest-bodied  with 
the  quick  and  discerning  eye  of  a  man  who  had  done 
the  same  thing  so  often  before  that  the  doing  thereof 
was  mere  routine. 

The  guide,  Blair,  and  the  laborers  he  had  chosen 
passed  up  the  steep  stairs  and  reached  the  viaduct 
that  ran  straight  across  to  the  steel-mill.  Under  them 
was  a  long  level  of  freight  trains,  moving  back  and 
forth  in  the  darkness  behind  crawling  engines.  Sig 
nal  lights  flashed  like  blazing  amethysts  and  rubies  in 
the  darkness. 

Blair  recalled  vividly,  as  when  he  had  seen  it  first, 
the  rainbow  of  colors,  the  pillars  of  scarlet  flame,  the 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS      37 

brilliant  fires  that  illuminated  the  yards  like  the  after 
glow  of  crackling  lightning.  It  was  a  mundane 
aurora-borealis,  the  batteries  of  the  heaven  darting  as 
it  were  from  the  depths  of  the  earth,  and  spreading 
across  its  face. 

The  crashing  of  the  rails,  the  crackling  of  the  plates, 
the  piercing  blow  of  multitudinous  whistles,  the  deep- 
drawn  puff  of  laboring  engines,  became  predominant 
and  sank  into  comparative  quiet  by  turns.  This  roar 
and  din  made  not  the  night  hideous  to  Blair;  it  sug 
gested  rather  the  gigantesque  energy  of  a  toiling  hu 
manity  that  refused  to  sleep  with  the  hours  that 
brought  rest  to  the  universe. 

A  minute's  walk  and  they  fronted  the  walls,  black 
with  soot,  of  the  steel-mill.  At  one  side  a  vast  area  of 
ore-piles  yawned  under  the  high  trestles ;  and  nearby 
a  huge  vessel  lay  sleeping  idly,  undisturbed  by  the 
clatter  and  screech  of  the  machinery,  in  the  short  slip 
of  Steel  river  that  ran  into  the  yards.  At  the  other 
side,  stretching  afar,  was  the  low  roof  of  the  rail-mill. 
The  eye  could  find  no  unbroken  space  whereon  to  rest. 
Buildings  were  everywhere,  compact,  huddled  to 
gether  as  in  the  bird's-eye  view  of  a  populous  city. 

Suddenly  the  converters  in  the  steel-mill  opened  and 
the  metal  poured  into  the  ladles.  A  glaring  light 
shone  incandescent  between  the  walls  and  through  the 
windowless  frames.  It  was  like  looking  at  the  sky  on 
a  June  noon  when  the  sun  rages  hot. 

He  passed  over  the  long  level  of  surface  tracks,  run 
ning  in  every  direction,  over  which  the  small  engines 
were  pulling  their  freight  of  ingots  and  molds,  hastened 
by  boiler  and  engine-houses  and  entered  the  ground 
floor  of  the  brick  hoist-towers  of  the  blast-furnaces. 
Men  were  hustling  against  each  other,  wheeling  broad 


38  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

barrows  to  the  elevator  shafts.  A  bell  rang  the  signal, 
and  the  loads  of  coke  and  ore  went  whistling  to  the 
top,  carrying  inexhaustible  food  to  the  insatiable  maw 
of  the  mill.  Four  of  the  men  were  left  behind  here. 

"  Yer  an  Amerikin,"  explained  the  guide,  "  I  can 
find  something  better  fer  you." 

"  Thanks,"  nodded  Blair. 

They  were  in  the  dark  again,  plowing  on  to  the 
cast-houses.  Bewildered  by  the  maze  of  buildings 
through  which  he  had  passed,  Blair  turned  to  look. 
Back  of  him  the  darkness  was  fretted  by  a  stream  of 
iron,  golden-hued,  pouring  down  from  the  heights  of 
the  mixers  into  the  cars  on  the  ground.  Blair's 
cicerone  had  already  entered  the  cast-houses ;  he  turned 
to  follow. 

To  the  right  of  the  long  aisle  were  ranged  the  four 
colossal  brick  blast-furnaces,  to  the  left  the  red  iron 
flanks  of  the  heating-stoves  towered  sixty  feet  in  the 
air.  The  atmosphere  dilated  with  the  stench  and  the 
screech  and  the  flame  of  the  gas  pouring  into  the 
stoves  through  the  short  thick  pipes. 

The  foreman  who  had  led  him  thither  drew  close  to 
the  newcomer,  put  his  hand  to  his  car  and  yelled : 

"  Wait  here.  I'll  find  Winslow.  Watch  out  for 
yerself,"  and  he  hastened  down  between  the  crack 
ling  lines  of  this  cannonade  of  fire. 

Gradually  Blair  grew  accustomed  to  the  noise,  and 
unmindful  of  the  heat.  Down  further  he  saw  ten  men 
shoving  with  might  and  main  at  the  end  of  an  iron 
bar.  A  man  encased  from  head  to  foot  in  tarpaulin 
was  standing  on  the  coil  of  pipes  that  ran  about  the 
bosh  of  the  furnace.  His  cheeks  were  all  but  pressed 
against  the  hissing  plates.  Through  a  round  open 
hole  in  the  flank  of  the  furnace,  the  yellow  flames 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS 


39 


licked  for  prey  whereon  to  feed.  The  furnace-man 
had  his  head  and  face  in  the  teeth  of  the  hungry  beast. 
A  hose  was  pouring  water  over  his  body  from  crown 
.  to  toe,  as  he  was  hammering  with  Herculean  blows 
at  a  round  thick  iron,  which  the  helpers  were  ram 
ming  into  place  with  the  rod.  As  the  water  from 
the  hose  and  the  pipes  played  on  his  face,  as  the  yel 
low  effulgence  danced  across  his  flesh,  snarling  at  the 
antagonistic  spray,  his  features  turned  to  a  livid  green. 
The  tuyere  was  jammed  into  the  throat  of  the  blast, 
and  the  man  stepped  down  from  the  bosh  and  reeled 
backward  in  a  faint  on  the  floor  of  the  inferno. 

"  Dangerous  work  that,"  remarked  Blair  to  a  mill 
hand  who  was  moving  past  him.  He  must  express  an 
opinion.  He  had  found  it  hard  to  stand  by  impas 
sively  and  watch  a  human  being  burn  to  cinders. 

''  Yes,"  answered  the  other,  shrugging  his  shoulders 
and  going  on  in  a  Scotch  twang,  "  but  the  job  is  worse 
in  the  winter;  the  water  freezes  on  your  back  then 
while  your  face  is  on  fire.  Did  you  ever  work  in  a 
mill?" 

Blair  shook  his  head. 

"  Well,  it's  dangerous  everywhere.  A  man  fell  off 
one  of  the  dust-catchers  an  hour  ago.  Broke  his 
'  nut '  clean  through." 

Blair  turned  to  look  in  the  direction  towards  which 
the  vanishing  Scotchman  had  pointed.  On  a  kind  of 
platform  to  his  right  in  the  open  air  was  a  series  of 
huge  inverted  cones,  ends  tapering  to  the  ground, 
round  bodies  scaling  upwards  towards  the  top  of  the 
elevator  towers  that  he  had  just  left.  These  were  the 
dust-catchers  then!  His  intellect  was  confused,  be 
wildered  by  this  maze  of  pipes,  coils,  chimneys,  fur 
naces,  engines,  tubing  and  tanks.  The  screech  of  the 


4o  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

bellowing  gas,  the  pungent  odor,  the  throb  of  the 
building  to  the  pulsation  of  the  great  engines  bedeviled 
him.  Perplexedly,  he  reflected  that  all  this  was  but 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  nay,  the  tip  of  his  finger,  com 
pared  to  the  mammoth  body  of  the  Gargantua.  \Yould 
he  ever  understand  the  purpose  of  each  bone,  each 
vein,  each  muscle  of  the  colossal  anatomy? 

"  I  will  never  leave  it  until  I  do,"  he  said  firmly, 
aroused  to  the  inspiration  of  mastering  the  difficult, 
of  accomplishing  the  begun. 

A  thin,  wiry  man  wedged  towards  Blair  at  the  side 
of  the  fellow  who  had  conducted  him  thither. 

'  This  is  the  man  I  brought  yer,  Winslow." 

Winslow  eyed  the  applicant  critically,  removing  the 
short-stemmed  pipe  from  his  mouth.  His  eyes  lin 
gered  with  admiration  on  the  magnificent  frame  that 
looked  down  on  six  feet  by  two  inches.  Blair  sur 
veyed  Winslow  quickly,  noticing  the  sharp  nose,  the 
cross-eyes,  the  large  Adam's  apple  that  worked  up  and 
down  in  his  long  throat. 

"  You  look  strong  and  hearty,"  said  Winslow  with 
an  English  accent.  "  Come  ahead,"  he  said,  lighting 
his  pipe. 

Blair  followed,  turning  back  to  gaze  at  the  man  who 
had  replaced  the  tuyere ;  he  had  recovered  from  his 
collapse  and  he  was  moving  about  as  if  fainting  were 
a  consideration  that  entered  his  wages. 

Winslow  led  the  way  to  the  front  of  the  cast-houses. 
Flush  with  the  edge  of  the  raised  sand  platform  stood 
a  row  of  flat-bottomed  cars  each  holding  an  immense 
ladle.  The  lid  of  every  ladle  stood  yawning  and 
empty  directly  under  one  of  the  tangle  of  narrow  gut 
ters  that  began  at  the  hearth  of  the  furnaces  and  ended 
at  the  depression  dug  for  the  cars.  It  had  taken  no 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS     41 

more  than  a  glance  for  Blair  to  see  that  in  a  few  min 
utes  the  molten  iron  would  pour  down  from  the  fur 
nace  through  the  gutters,  into  the  waiting  ladles,  and 
that  an  engine  would  whirl  that  seething  load — 
whither  he  knew  not. 

Laborers  were  toiling  away  in  the  feverish  atmos 
phere,  raking  up  the  slag  from  the  last  heat,  carefully 
scooping  out  the  channels  and  closing  their  mouths 
for  the  heat  to  follow.  The  novice  mopped  away  the 
sweat  that  was  standing  out  on  his  face  and  forehead 
like  blisters.  Winslow  smiled.  It  would  have  been 
an  insult  to  his  own  bitter  apprenticeship  did  not  a 
green  hand  show  visible  signs  of  suffering. 

At  the  hearth  of  the  next  furnace,  a  laborer  prodded 
through  the  valve  to  let  the  gas  escape.  It  burst  out 
with  a  scream,  enveloping  the  monkey-man  in  a  veil 
of  the  lightest  blue,  growing  darker  and  lighter  by 
turns.  A  half-dozen  men  stood  near  the  tapping-hole, 
holding  a  long  heavy  bar.  Their  faces  reflected  the 
pink  shimmer  from  the  iron,  boiling  and  raging  for  es 
cape.  Some  averted  their  sweltering  faces ;  others 
faced  the  caloric  temperature  boldly.  The  dolly  broke 
the  clay  dam,  and  the  iron  pulsed  out ;  slowly  at  first, 
with  difficulty,  like  a  flood  disentangling  its  waters 
from  the  debris  of  a  ruin  before  rushing  forward. 

Carrhart  had  expected  this  rush;  but  the  molten 
metal  rolled  slowly  and  softly,  uncoiling  its  weighty 
folds ;  then,  pushed  forward  by  the  mass  behind,  it 
flowed  a  stream  of  molten  gold  swelling  through  the 
sand  of  the  gutters.  It  became  a  river  of  saffron; 
a  spreading  delta  formed  of  tributaries  of  shifting 
amber  and  yellow  and  crocus  whose  jeweled  drops 
changed  from  yellow  to  crocus  and  amber  as  the  waves 
poured  sluggishly  from  source  to  mouth. 


42  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  atmosphere  was  fire,  scorching,  overmastering. 
Heat  bubbled  out  of  the  lava  rills ;  it  surged  from  the 
fountainhead  of  the  center  volcano.  The  cinder  ladle 
fell  from  the  hands  of  the  apprentice.  His  aching, 
strained  muscles  hardened  and  grew  taut.  Suddenly 
they  relaxed,  his  head  grew  dizzy,  he  reeled  and  sank 
on  his  knees  on  the  sirocco-fanned  estuary.  But 
Blair's  will  was  even  stronger  than  his  body  and  it  re 
asserted  its  mastery.  He  staggered  to  his  feet,  sup 
porting  himself  on  the  ladle,  breathing  heavily.  He 
bent  his  eyes,  hazed  with  film,  to  the  ground,  ashamed 
of  his  weakness.  He  feared  that  he  had  been  seen. 

"  Never  mind ;  you'll  get  used  to  it.  Go  out  in  the 
air  a  bit,  my  lad ;"  and  Winslow  passed  him  in  his 
tours  around  the  ladles. 

Carrhart  stood  his  ground.  He  would  swoon  away 
before  he  yielded. 

"  Water !  Water !  You  whelp.  You—  '  yelled 
a  man  at  the  furnace. 

A  boy,  sturdy  and  plump,  thridded  his  way  to  the 
hearth  through  the  blinding  heat,  jumping  across  the 
flaming  gutters  without  spilling  a  drop  of  water  from 
the  buckets  he  bore  on  a  yoke.  They  discarded  the  tin 
cup  and  swigged  the  water  from  the  buckets,  feeding 
their  blood  with  the  liquid  that  an  oozing  sweat  sapped 
from  their  systems. 

Blair  watched  them,  with  parched  lips,  with  chok 
ing  throat,  as  a  starved  beggar  might  peer  at  a  ban 
quet  through  a  window.  \Vater,  water!  Had  it  ever 
been  so  precious?  Had  he  ever  tasted  the  divine 
nectar?  Did  he  ever,  like  a  foolish  prodigal,  waste  it 
wantonly  ? 

"Water,  water;  you ;  you ,"  yelled  the 

heaters  from  all  sides.  Would  the  boy  ever  reach  him, 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS     43 

would  he  die  of  thirst  before  he  came  ?  The  lad  pushed 
onward  heedless  of  curses,  like  a  pack-horse  used  to 
abuse  and  blows.  A  big  Pole,  standing  near  the 
novice,  lifted  a  block  of  slag  and  threw  it  straight  at 
the  water-carrier's  head.  The  buckets  dropped;  the 
water  sizzed  and  steamed  on  the  sand.  The  boy  barely 
missed  stumbling  into  a  Phlegethon  of  molten  iron 
as  he  dodged  the  murderous  missile. 

Half  crazed  by  the  agony  of  physical  exertion,  of 
boiling  blood,  of  strained  nerves,  Blair  Carrhart  felt  a 
desire  for  vengeance  sweep  to  his  heart,  a  longing  to 
vent  the  pent-up  rage  that  the  brutal  work  had  been 
storing  in  his  mind.  It  was  like  so  much  alcohol 
cooking  in  his  brain.  He  dropped  his  cinder  ladle. 
The  Pole  was  aiming  a  blow  at  the  boy's  cheek. 

"  Let  that  boy  alone,  you  hear !  "  His  big  hand 
clenched  and  the  striking  muscles  on  his  arm  and  wrist 
and  shoulders  moved  into  position. 

The  Pole  grinned  sardonically  at  this  newcomer,  a 
full  thirty  pounds  lighter  than  himself.  Vorlinski  was 
the  bully  of  the  mill,  a  swashbuckler  who  terrorized 
all  weaker  men  and  who  lay  in  wait  to  assert  his 
physical  supremacy  over  every  newcomer.  The  two 
biggest  men  in  the  mill  stood  face  to  face  to  test  their 
strength  and  discover  who  was  the  bigger.  The  Pole 
raised  his  iron  shutter — a  tool  used  for  stopping  the 
gutters — and  stepped  back  to  give  it  a  full  swing. 

Winslow  made  his  appearance  at  that  moment,  edg 
ing  up  from  the  end  of  the  pig-floor.  Casting  a  glance 
of  defiance  and  hatred  at  the  boy's  defender,  Vorlinski 
went  on  with  his  work. 

The  tributaries  climbed  steadily  to  the  banks  at  the 
mouths  and  gradually  raised  to  their  heights.  Wins- 
low  spake  the  word.  Away  went  the  impediments  and 


44 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


the  flowing  iron  snapped  and  gushed  and  sparked  into 
the  huge  ladles  on  the  cars  below. 

On  the  second  night  Blair  started  to  work  cleaning 
out  the  gutters,  fixing  the  shutters  in  place.  After 
the  first  heat  every  movement  cost  him  a  stitch  of 
pain.  He  feared  that  the  skin  on  the  palm  of  his 
hands  and  the  soles  of  his  feet  would  crack  and  break. 
The  sweat  was  standing  inch  deep  in  his  shoes.  His 
muscles  moved  like  a  taut  bow,  only  bending  with  tug 
ging  and  pulling,  unbending  with  a  snap  that  sent  un 
spoken  exclamations  to  his  lips.  His  whole  frame  be 
came  one  unyielding  bone,  reft  of  ball  and  socket. 
Each  separate  ache  shot  through  his  body  and  joined 
for  a  general  attack  on  the  small  of  his  back. 

The  heat  suffocated  him ;  he  strove  against  the  im 
pulse  to  fling  him  down  on  that  smoking  floor  and 
plunge  his  face  to  the  ground  as  men  do  when  the 
simoon  flashes  across  the  desert.  The  noise,  the 
screech  of  the  gas  rent  his  nerves. 

Still  the  others  stood  it,  seemingly  unconcerned,  in 
different  as  if  working  under  normal  conditions  in  the 
open  air,  moving  to  and  fro  with  the  order  and  the  sys 
tem  of  an  army  well  regulated.  Each  had  his  work  to 
do  and  each  did  it,  without  murmur,  without  confu 
sion  ;  the  heaters  before  the  furnaces  were  toiling  away 
like  stokers  in  the  pent-up  hold  of  a  vessel.  No  word 
of  conversation  broke  the  monotonous  noise,  omni 
present  as  silence  itself,  of  the  roaring,  rumbling 
mills. 

Blair  could  endure  it  no  longer.  He  threw  his  cin 
der  ladle  on  the  ground,  and  tossing  his  leonine  head 
back,  he  pressed  both  of  his  big  hands  to  his  smarting 
back.  Vorlinski  eyed  him  ;  his  inquiring  eager  look 
turned  quickly  to  a  victorious  smirk.  He  saw  the 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS      45 

weakness  of  his  enemy.  Never  would  a  more  pro 
pitious  night  for  attack  come.  Vorlinski  was  not 
above  advantages  of  this  kind.  He  courted  inequal 
ity,  when  the  line  was  drawn  sharply  in  his  favor. 

A  heat  was  tapped  from  each  of  the  four  furnaces 
every  four  hours ;  the  interior  of  one  of  them  was  dis 
ordered  and  there  came  a  pause  in  the  work.  Blair 
stepped  out  on  the  iron-sheeted  platforms  that  ran  be 
tween  the  depressions  where  the  engines  haul  in  the 
ladles.  He  sat  down  on  the  edge  and  looked  out 
towards  the  lake  in  the  direction  of  the  scaling  heaps 
of  towering  coke  that  surrounded  the  maze  of  car 
tracks  like  an  embankment.  The  roof  of  the  cement 
plant,  coated  with  fine  white  particles,  sparkled  like 
snow  in  the  moonlight. 

He  leaned  back  for  a  second  to  rest  his  aching  body, 
gazing  upwards  at  the  sky  and  the  stars,  twinkling 
oblivious  to  the  gride  of  the  mills,  to  the  stench  and 
heat  poured  out  by  its  fires.  Even  his  iron  bed  seemed 
soft  and  restful.  He  drew  his  legs  up  and  stretched 
out  at  length.  He  was  dozing  away,  his  head  resting 
on  his  arm. 

Vorlinski  had  been  watching  him  closely.  He 
missed  him  from  the  cast-houses,  then  he  saw  him  on 
the  platform.  The  Pole  dodged  around  the  stoves 
and  observed  his  enemy  narrowly.  He  waited  until 
Blair  was  recumbent ;  then  he  dodged  back  to  reappear 
with  a  tin  cup  in  one  hand  and  a  stick  of  lime  in  the 
other.  Vorlinski  dipped  the  lime  in  the  water  and 
smeared  it  thickly  on  the  cloth  of  Blair's  trousers.  He 
had  "bugged"  his  man.  When  the  sly  Pole  tiptoed 
back  for  the  second  time  he  deposited  a  lump  of  burn 
ing  hot  slag — the  exterior  of  which  was  deceptive — at 
the  sleeper's  side. 


46  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  lime  ate  its  way  through  the  cloth  quickly  as  a 
gnawing  tooth.  It  nipped  the  flesh.  Blair  awoke 
with  a  yell.  The  picture,  living  enough,  of  a  bursting 
furnace,  enswathing  yellow  flames  and  scorching  iron 
filled  his  mind.  He  caught  sight  of  the  grinning  faces 
watching  his  predicament.  The  widest  grin  of  all 
stretched  the  Pole's  thin  lips,  cut  like  a  slit  in  his  face. 

Blair's  foot  struck  the  slag.  It  was  the  weapon  of 
vengeance  nearest  at  hand.  He  foresaw  it  whizzing 
through  the  air  at  the  bully's  head.  He  stooped 
to  pick  it  up ;  but  he  dropped  it  with  a  cry  of  pain  and 
rage,  his  gullibility  hurting  him  more,  for  the  moment, 
than  the  burn.  The  men  on  the  floor  were  convulsed 
with  laughter. 

Anger  drowned  Blair's  fret  of  spirit  and  hurt  of 
body  alike.  The  burn  on  his  leg,  the  scald  on  his 
palm,  were  but  food  to  the  flames  of  vengeance  that 
sent  the  blood  swirling  to  his  brain.  His  eyes  flashed ; 
his  muscles  tightened ;  his  chest  heaved  to  the  swift 
beats  of  his  hammering  heart.  He  plunged  forward, 
feeling  himself  grow  stronger  and  broader  and  taller. 
He  would  have  faced  an  army ;  he  would  have  battled 
his  way  forward  against  protruding  bayonets.  He 
was  blinded,  insane  with  anger.  His  craving  for 
vengeance  put  blinders  over  his  eyes,  shutting  out  from 
the  range  of  his  vision  all  else  on  earth  but  the  Pole, 
the  vengeance  for  which  he  craved,  and  himself. 

The  furnace  had  been  put  in  order;  already  the 
dolly  prodded  through  the  dam,  and  the  molten  iron 
purled  away  through  the  sand  of  the  gutters,  flinging 
out  a  scintillating  shower  of  pale  gold  sparks,  rolling 
at  last  into  the  tired,  waiting  ladles. 

Vorlinski  watched  the  approach  of  his  man  calmly, 
confident  of  his  fresh  limbs  unwearied,  and  his  heavier 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS     47 

bulk.  He  held  the  heavy  spade-shaped  shutter  in  his 
hand. 

Blair's  thought  caught  inspiration  on  the  run  and 
he  planned  his  campaign,  offensive  and  defensive,  on 
the  jump.  His  mind  was  moved  by  the  same  intensity 
of  purpose  which  propelled  his  burly  body.  The 
Pole's  sharp  cheekbones  protruded  like  knuckles  on  a 
big  fist  and  his  little  eyes  waxed  green  in  color. 

Blair  hurtled  forward,  his  brown  eyes  fastened  on 
the  green  eyes  of  the  Pole.  He  lifted  his  left 
hand  to  strike,  as  if  the  shutter  were  a  thing  he  had 
left  out  of  account.  It  crashed  towards  Blair's  large 
head.  Nimbly  he  leaped  to  one  side ;  it  plowed 
with  full  force  into  the  hot  sand.  Vorlinski  had  reck 
oned  without  his  host.  The  unexpected  fall  of  his  pon 
derous  weapon  made  his  balance  totter  and  'he  stag 
gered  forward.  Blair's  corded  hands  clasped  his 
throat.  The  battle  of  the  giants — of  the  two  strongest 
of  the  five  thousand  employed  in  the  mill — began. 
The  men  turned  to  watch,  too  startled  by  the  sudden 
outcome  of  affairs  to  interfere. 

The  molten  iron  went  on  plunging  its  cascade  of 
gold  into  the  filling  ladles.  Already  the  black  impuri 
ties  were  foaming  at  the  top  like  the  charred  patches 
on  the  surface  of  a  glowing  fire  of  logs. 

The  Pole  dug  his  heels  into  the  sand,  and  his  strong 
legs  stiffened  like  marble  pillars.  His  passion,  too, 
whipped  his  dull,  lethargic  mind  into  sudden  action. 
His  face  was  red  from  the  choking,  the  blood  con 
gealed  scarlet  about  the  two  sharply  protruding  points 
of  his  cheekbones;  his  green  eyes  grew  larger,  turn 
ing  blue,  and  bulging  from  the  sockets. 

The  ladles  were  on.  the  depressed  tracks,  but  a  few 
feet  ahead;  and  Vorlinski  was  transformed  into  a  fiend 


48  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

(the  transformation  was  easily  accomplished)  by  ire 
and  pain. 

Blair  was  slowly  bending  his  adversary  backward — 
the  adversary  allowed  Blair  to  waste  his  strength  un 
der  that  impression.  \Yith  a  quick  lunge,  the  Pole's 
muscular  body  pressed  forward ;  a  nimble  twist  of  his 
massive  shoulders  and  head,  and  his  neck  was  free. 
Blair's  left  fist  shot  at  Vorlinski's  receding  chin  and 
took  it  squarely.  The  Pole  screamed,  wavered  a  sec 
ond,  dazed  by  that  terrific  blow.  Before  he  recovered, 
Blair's  right  descended  with  the  weight  of  a  rolling 
bowlder  on  his  opponent's  shoulder. 

Vorlinski  turned  white.  The  shame  of  defeat  was 
upon  him.  Froth  flecked  his  thin,  blade-like  lips. 
Torment  passed  unheeded ;  passion  was  stirred  to 
foam.  Agility  was  in  Blair's  favor;  weight  in  his. 
Vorlinski  shifted  his  tactics. 

The  massive  ladles,  filled  almost  to  the  brim,  and 
Blair's  body,  small,  infinitely  small  by  comparison, 
were  all  that  loomed  up  in  the  narrow  vision  of  Vor 
linski's  mad  mind. 

Blair's  blows  rained  with  lightning-like  rapidity  on 
the  Pole's  cheek,  now  livid  from  the  punishment,  each 
stroke  gathering  added  strength  from  the  rage  that 
grew  with  the  striking.  The  Pole  dodged  unex 
pectedly,  with  shrewd  strategy ;  Blair's  right  shot 
through  the  unresisting  air,  almost  unjointed  by  the 
unimpeded  flight.  He  groaned  and  panted  for  breath. 
His  system,  weakened  by  overwork,  refused  further 
goading  from  the  impetus  of  excitement.  Vorlinski's 
powerful  arms  squeezed  his  caving  ribs  and  he  felt 
his  heroic  spirit  quail  and  faint. 

Then  courage  took  its  second  wind.  Blair  stood  his 
ground  again,  resisting  with  the  energy  of  despair. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GIANTS      49 

The  hot  breath  of  the  bubbling  ladle  was  on  his  back. 
Vorlinski  was  forcing  him  nearer  and  nearer.  The 
demoniac  plan  of  the  Pole  thrilled  across  Blair's  dizzy 
brain. 

Despair  weaponed  him  once  more,  but  the  weapon 
was  unwieldy  in  his  lax  arms.  His  heart  sank  and 
fell;  his  senses  swam.  The  horrified  expression  of 
the  onlookers  wavered  before  him.  He  was  dimly 
conscious  of  the  blenched  face  of  the  water-boy,  stand 
ing  there  with  the  yoke  crossed  on  his  shoulders.  The 
fiendish  expression  on  the  Pole's  countenance  flickered 
before  him. 

The  Pole  strained  his  legs  and  lifted  Blair  on  his 
brawny  shoulders  to  hurl  him  into  the  center  of  the 
molten  iron,  boiling  in  the  ladle. 

The  men  ran  forward,  none  too  quick,  the  blood 
freezing  in  their  veins  at  the  baleful  disaster  which  the 
delay  of  a  moment  would  mean,  utterly  staggered  at 
the  design  of  the  fiend. 

Blair  lay  gasping  and  panting  for  breath  ;  his  swoon 
ing  senses  jarred  towards  life  as  he  caught  Winslow's 
bawling  voice,  rising  high  above  the  screech  of  the 
gas  :  "  Vorlinski,  you  quit !  You  hound,  don't  show 
your  face  in  this  mill  again." 


V 
A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER 

IN  the  morning  after  the  battle  Paul  Brodski, 
the  water  boy  whom  Blair  had  saved  from  the 
vicious  attack  of  Vorlinski,'  ran  home  faster 
than  his  stocky  legs  were  used  to  go.  He  was  burning 
to  give  the  family  an  account  of  the  battle  between  the 
Pole  and  his  protector.  In  itself  the  event  was  inter 
esting,  but  to  the  Brodskis  there  was  an  interest  extra 
neous  to  the  event.  Vorlinski  was  an  enemy  of  the 
family.  He  had  boarded  with  them  some  few  months 
ago,  and  he  had  left  their  bed  and  board  when  Wanda, 
the  eldest  daughter,  rejected  his  advances.  Vorlinski 
saw  no  harm  in  making  the  youngest  son  atone  for  the 
sins  of  the  eldest  daughter;  figuratively  speaking,  the 
lump  of  slag  had  been  hurled  at  Wanda's  head,  al 
though,  literally  enough,  it  was  aimed  to  smash  Paul's 
cranium.  In  a  feud  one  tries  to  kill  many  birds  with 
the  same  stone. 

The  boy  ran  home  through  the  open  prairie  towards 
the  Polish  quarter  of  Marvin — called  "  Dog  Town  "  in 
obloquy  by  the  English-speaking  inhabitants — where 
one,  two  and  three  storied  tenements  were  hud 
dled  together,  massed  as  thickly  as  the  intertwining 
bushes  of  an  undergrowth.  They  were  as  architec- 
tureless  as  so  many  square  boxes.  The  basement 
boards  stood  submerged  in  pools  of  stagnant  water 

5° 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     51 

and  they  were  slowly  rotting  and  crumbling  away. 
Here  and  there  sporadic  attempts  at  decoration — 
shingles  crossed  tilewise  and  painted  red  and  yellow — 
made  a  crude  protest  against  the  shower  of  dust  and 
the  clouds  of  smoke  from  the  mills.  A  few  willows, 
black  and  stunted,  were  the  sole  survivors  in  the  battle 
for  existence  that  nature  made  against  manufacture. 
In  the  rear,  completely  hidden  from  the  view  of  the 
unpaved  street,  was  another  world  of  tenements;  the 
duplicate  of  the  hideous  world  in  front.  Half  of  it 
all  was  a  maze  of  stairway;  the  other  half  living- 
space.  Herds  of  toilers  were  housed  here;  life 
swarmed  everywhere  in  this  forlorn,  melancholy  cor 
ner  of  the  universe. 

Paul  darted  up  and  down  the  high  steps  of  the 
rickety  sidewalks.  He  cut  corners  and  crossed  the 
muddy  lots.  Swarms  of  children,  dirty,  unkempt, 
wretchedly  clad,  their  puny  limbs  (many  of  them  had 
the  rickets)  pitifully  declaring  the  woful  effect  of 
malnutrition,  foul  air,  and  bad  water,  were  playing 
near  the  slimy  pools.  They  called  familiarly;  but 
Paul  merely  nodded  to  save  time  and  hurried  on.  He 
wished  to  reach  home  before  his  brothers  started  to 
work  on  their  shift. 

The  front  doors  of  the  tenements  were  shut  the 
year  around ;  in  winter  this  saved  coal,  and  in  summer 
and  winter  it  saved  the  parlor.  Paul  hastened  down 
the  narrow  plank  gangway  between  the  cottages,  flung 
open  the  basement  door  of  the  house  to  his  right,  and 
entering  the  kitchen,  he  slipped  between  the  lines  of 
red  underclothing,  damp  and  steaming,  stretched 
across  the  room  to  dry. 

A  squabby,  corsetless,  bare-footed  woman  looked 
up  from  a  wash-tub  that  was  adding  thick  volumes  of 


52  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

vapor  to  the  steam  from  the  clothes.  A  piece  of  faded, 
brown  veiling,  rolled  triplicately,  was  spread  over  her 
head  and  knotted  under  her  heavy  chin. 

"  What's  the  matter !  why  don't  you  speak !  "  she 
cried. 

Paul  stood  gasping  for  breath. 

"  Well !  out  of  a  job  again !  "  she  shrilled  in  Polish, 
lifting  her  red  hands  out  of  the  soap-suds  and  rub 
bing  the  knuckles  of  her  fist  across  her  broad,  flat  nose. 
Paul  evidently  knew  the  gesture ;  for  he  backed  into  a 
corner  of  the  kitchen  timidly,  towards  a  pile  of 
filthy  linen,  crushed  between  a  barrel  and  a  sewing 
machine.  He  shook  his  head  in  violent  negation,  and 
his  mother's  hands  sank  back  into  the  suds.  If  his 
job  was  safe,  nothing  else  could  be  vital. 

"  Vor-lin-ski — he — he,"  blowed  Paul. 

"  Oh,  that  beast,"  she  shrugged  her  fat  shoulder*. 
"  Why  don't  you  let  him  alone?  Don't  we  have  hard 
times  enough  without  bothering  about  him  ?  " 

Paul  had  recovered  his  wind,  but  he  had  no  mind 
to  lose  the  breath  he  had  just  recovered  by  telling  his 
story  twice. 

"Jan  and  Michael  gone?"  he  asked. 

"  No,  they're  here  yet.    Go  and  get  your  breakfast." 

There  was  a  room  off  the  kitchen,  no  larger  than  a 
closet — a  mere  hole  in  the  wall — the  door  of  which 
opened,  and  Paul's  brothers,  both  in  overalls,  made 
their  appearance.  They  moved  straight  to  the  stove 
and  took  their  big  dinner-pails  out  of  the  heating 
chamber. 

"Why  are  you  back  so  early,  Paul?"  asked  Jan, 
the  eldest  brother.  All  that  one  noticed  about  Jan  was 
his  matted  red  beard  and  his  large  blue  eyes. 

"  A  fight,"  exclaimed  Paul,  "  a  big  fight  between  an 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     53 

American — the  one  I  told  you  about  yesterday — 
and —  "  he  paused.  He  had  run  all  the  way  home  to 
relate  the  adventure  and  he  thought  it  no  more  thnn 
fair  that  the  telling  last  as  long  as  the  running.  It 
would  be  wicked  extravagance  to  puff  it  out  in  a 
breath. 

"  Well,  go  on,"  commanded  Jan,  impatiently.  He 
walked  over  to  the  match  safe  (the  pendant  part  of  it 
was  made  out  of  a  crucifix,  the  feet  of  the  Christ  rest 
ing  on  the  box),  and  he  lit  his  pipe. 

"  Where's  Wanda?  I  don't  want  to  tell  it  without 
her."  The  boy  had  the  dramatic  instinct — he  craved 
an  audience. 

"  Go  on,  you ;  never  mind  Wanda,"  ordered 
Michael,  the  second  brother.  He  had  the  large  blue 
eyes  common  to  the  family,  and  a  mustache  so  much 
out  of  proportion  to  his  small  nose  that  it  seemed  to 
have  been  stuck  to,  rather  than  to  have  grown  on,  his 

HP. 

Paul  remained  obstinate.  Jan  pulled  his  ear.  It 
was  getting  desperately  near  mill  time.  "  It  was  a 
great  terrible  fight,  but  I  don't  tell  you  until  Wanda 
comes,"  howled  Paul,  trying  to  twist  his  ear,  red  from 
punishment,  out  of  Jan's  grasp. 

"  She's  gone  to  the  store,  dunce,"  shouted  the 
mother,  interested  now  as  the  others.  Wanda  strolled 
into  the  kitchen  at  this  juncture,  her  chubby  arms  full 
of  brown-paper  packages,  a  black  shawl  thrown  over 
her  head,  hiding  her  blond  hair,  her  chin  and  all  of 
her  face  save  her  eyes  and  nose — the  blue  eyes  and 
the  flat  nose  that  were  family  characteristics.  She  re 
moved  her  shawl,  divulging  a  buxom  form  and  large 
hips. 

"  Will  you  go  on !  "  exclaimed  Michael,  exasperated, 


54  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

snapping  his  knife  blade  back  and  forth  with  his 
thumb.  Jan  twisted  Paul's  ear  again.  "  We'll  be  late, 
you  little  fool." 

Two  tow-headed  tots,  Anna  and  Mary,  left  their 
work,  the  rocking  of  the  baby  in  an  antiquated  cradle 
and  the  clearing  of  the  table,  to  listen  to  Paul's  story. 
Thomas,  the  youngest  boy,  followed  his  sisters,  suck 
ing  his  thumb  assiduously. 

"  Then  Vorlinski,  he — you  know  the  ladle  was  filled 
with  iron,  boiling  hot — 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Wanda,  stamping  her  foot,  "  we 
know  the  ladles  were  full  of  hot  iron.  You  have  told 
us  that  four  times  now." 

"  Did  I  ?  "  questioned  Paul,  innocently.  "  Well,  I 
forgot.  But  Vorlinski,  he  lifts  the  American  up  on 
his  shoulder  and  holds  him  up  in  the  air,  over  the 
ladle,  and  then " 

"  Will  you  go  on,  you  monkey !  "  and  Jan  swung 
out  his  right  arm.  Paul  backed  further  in  his  corner. 

"  What  will  you  give  me,  if  I  tell  the  rest  ?  "  he 
asked  slyly. 

"  Give  you !  "  screamed  Jan  and  Michael,  "  we'll 
give  you " 

The  clock  from  the  tower  of  the  Catholic  school 
struck  six.  Paul  grinned.  "  You'll  have  to  hurry 
now.  It's  six.  You'll  be  docked.  You  can  think  on 
the  way  what  you  will  give  me  and  I'll  tell  you  the 
rest  when  you  get  back/' 

Casting  wrathful  glances  at  the  dramatist,  the 
brothers  grasped  their  pails  and  hastened  out.  Paul 
ran  to  the  door,  put  his  hands  to  his  mouth,  and  yelled 
at  the  top  of  his  lungs,  "  And  then  Winslow  he 
comes  along  and  fires  Vorlinski.  Fired  him.  You 
owe  me  a  cent — you  two." 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     55 

Jan  and  Michael  turned,  shaking  their  fists.  The 
mother  flouted  the  boy  with  a  wet  cloth.  "  Couldn't 
you  have  told  that  an  hour  ago  ?  Must  you  waste  the 
whole  morning  with  your  nonsense?  So  Vorlinski 
was  fired  ?  It  serves  the  beast  right.  Get  your  break 
fast." 

The  lad  walked  into  the  dining-room  and  sealed 
himself  at  the  table.  Wanda  waited  on  him.  From 
the  pot  boiling  on  the  stove,  she  poured  out  a  plate 
of  the  thick  soup,  a  mixture  of  vegetables  and  meat. 
A  strong,  pungent  odor  filled  the  whole  apartment. 
The  soup  and  two  slices  of  bread  composed  Paul's 
breakfast.  The  two  girls  and  Thomas  looked  on, 
their  besmeared  faces  pathetic  with  a  covetous  hungry 
look.  Paul  ate  hurriedly,  bending  his  head  far  over 
his  plate  that  he  might  not  see.  When  Wanda's  back 
was  turned,  he  divided  half  a  slice  of  the  bread  in 
three  parts  and  distributed  them  surreptitiously.  The 
child  in  the  cradle  cried. 

"  What  are  you  doing  around  the  table,  you  three  ?  " 
bawled  Wanda.  "  You've  had  your  meal,  haven't 
you?  Watch  Adam;  rock  his  cradle." 

"  Mary,"  called  the  mother  from  the  kitchen 
sharply.  The  tot  answered  the  call.  She  was  soon  set 
to  work,  pinning  the  clothes  to  the  line,  which  she 
could  barely  reach  by  tiptoeing  on  a  chair. 

Paul  finished  his  breakfast,  and  he  crawled  into  a 
cubby-hole,  off  the  dining-room,  to  sleep  until  the  fall 
of  dusk.  Wanda  bent  her  energies  to  preparing  the 
children  for  the  parochial  school.  At  a  quarter  to 
nine  Anna  and  Thomas  left  the  tenement  hand  in 
hand ;  they  had  barely  reached  the  street  before 
Thomas*  hand  was  in  Anna's  hair. 

Off  the  parlor — the  last  room  of  the  three — were 


56  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

two  more  sleeping  cabinets.  Wanda  put  these  in 
order,  next  she  occupied  herself  in  the  parlor.  The 
decorations  were  primitive ;  they  would  have  been 
ludicrous,  childish,  if  the  pathos  of  a  wretched  poverty 
had  not  marked  the  barren  luxury.  A  faded  red  in 
grain  carpet  stretched  itself  violently  to  cover  the  rough 
floor.  On  a  bracket  were  two  cream-colored  vases, 
each  holding  a  spike  of  pampas  grass.  Clusters  of  tis 
sue  rosettes  and  paper  flowers  were  pinned  to  the 
walls.  A  lithograph  of  the  Virgin,  another  of  the 
head  of  Christ,  crowned  with  thorns  and  bleeding;  a 
third  of  the  Virgin,  with  her  breast  open,  displaying  a 
flaming  heart,  covered  large  patches  of  the  yellow 
wall-paper,  peeled  and  rucked  by  the  dampness.  In  a 
niche,  fashioned  rudely  of  wood,  stood  a  metallic  cru 
cifix  and  two  diminutive  wax  candles. 

Wanda  dusted  these  things  reverently;  then  she 
turned  to  the  oak-stained  table,  where,  under  a  glass 
case,  stood  a  wedding  bouquet,  preserved  in  wax, 
and  the  photograph  of  her  mother  and  father,  taken 
on  the  day  they  were  bride  and  groom. 

The  photograph  had  a  mysterious  attraction  for 
the  girl ;  she  delayed  her  work,  whenever  opportunity 
offered,  to  brood  over  it  fondly.  She  bent  her  flat 
nose  close  to  the  glass  and  fastened  her  eyes  on  the 
picture  of  the  bridal  couple.  Two  years  ago  her 
father  had  been  killed  in  an  accident  in  the  mills ;  and 
her  only,  her  last  memory  of  him  was  that  of  a  man 
worn  and  twisted  and  gnarled  by  toil.  It  escaped 
realization  and  passed  into  the  byways  of  romance  to 
imagine  him  thus,  erect,  brisk,  even  attractive.  The 
clumsy  pose,  the  big  hand,  fidgeting  at  his  side — the 
uncouthness  of  body,  features  and  dress  made  no  im 
pression  on  Wanda's  untutored  perceptions.  The 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     57 

photograph  was  Wanda's  romance — the  romance  that 
intensified  with  the  waxing  of  her  years,  grimy  with 
facts.  The  mother,  blond,  slender,  blooming  with 
the  untarnished  prettiness  of  youth,  seemed,  in  her 
white  lawn  dress,  her  white  slippers,  the  short  veil 
with  its  sprig  of  myrtle,  the  bouquet  of  stephanotis  in 
her  hand,  like  a  princess  from  fairyland. 

Wanda  placed  herself  and  her  lover,  Tgnatz  Frank, 
in  the  came  position.  How  would  the  bridal  cos 
tume  become  her?  Could  she  get  Ignatz  to  stand 
as  dignifiedly  as  her  father?  Would  he  take  his  hands 
out  of  his  pockets  long  enough  to  let  them  be  photo 
graphed?  As  for  herself,  she  would  hold  the  bou 
quet  nearer  her  breast  and  not  so  far  off.  The  mois 
ture  of  her  breath  congealed  on  the  glass ;  out  of  pa 
tience,  assuring  herself  that  her  mother  was  still 
busied  over  the  tub,  she  lifted  the  case  and  took  the 
picture  out.  The  nearer  the  picture,  the  farthe-r 
away  went  Wanda  into  the  misty  land  of  dreams. 

"  Uuuh !  I'm  going  to  tell  ma !  "  cried  Mary,  shov 
ing  her  tow  head  through  the  door. 

"  I  wasn't  looking  at  the  picture ;  I  was  dusting  it," 
protested  Wanda. 

"  I  know,"  insisted  Mary,  waving  her  thin  arms 
again,  "  I'm  going  to  tell  ma." 

Mrs.  Brodski  came  rushing  into  the  parlor,  aghast 
at  the  reported  desecration.  Dexterously  Wanda  had 
slipped  the  photograph  back  under  the  glass  and  she 
went  on  cleaning  what  she  had  already  cleaned,  as 
if  nothing  were  amiss.  Mary  followed  her  mother, 
smirking. 

"  Wanda,  what's  this  ?  What  have  you  been 
doing?"  bawled  her  mother,  rubbing  her  knuckles 
across  the  tip  of  her  flat  nose. 


58  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Putting  the  room  in  order,"  answered  Wanda 
coolly. 

Mrs.  Brodski  cast  a  swift  glance  at  the  oblong 
glass ;  the  photograph  was  where  it  belonged. 
"  You've  been  lying  again,  you  little  minx !  "  and  she 
cuffed  Mary  vigorously.  "  You're  always  up  to  your 
tricks." 

Crying,  then  sobbing  so  hard  that  she  could  not  cry, 
Mary  stole  into  the  kitchen,  smarting  keenly  from  a 
sense  of  righteousness  outraged.  It  was  an  unjust 
and  inexplicable  world.  She  had  meant  nothing  but 
good ;  she  had  told  her  mother  the  truth,  and  she  had 
been  punished  for  it.  The  pain  mattered  little,  that 
was  soon  over,  but  the  injustice  rankled  in  her  young 
heart  for  hours  afterwards. 

"  But  the  child  spoke  the  truth  after  all,  Wanda," 
continued  the  mother  in  her  railing,  "  you  have  been 
wasting  all  morning  in  foolishness — over  the  picture." 

"  No,  little  mother,"  said  Wanda,  slipping  her  arm 
about  the  scolding  woman's  waist,  "  all  I  did  was  'to. 
take  one  look.  No  more,  just  one.  I  like  to  look  at 
the  picture,  you  are  so  beautiful  there." 

"  Nonsense,  foolish  girl,"  she  frowned ;  but  a  smile 
worked  around  the  corners  of  her  drooping  mouth. 
"  I  wasn't  so  bad-looking  though,  now  was  I  ?  Many 
are  worse.  They  used  to  say  I  was  a  good-looking 
girl.  How  I  have  changed !  "  A  dark  shadow  rip 
pled  over  the  wrinkled  surface  of  the  careworn 
cheeks.  "  But  it's  foolish  to  talk  about  such  things. 
It's  better,  a  good  deal,  to  think  about  to-morrow's 
bread  and  the  rent.  How  are  we  going  to  live  through 
the  winter  if  we  don't  get  some  boarders  to  help  us 
out?" 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     59 

"  Don't  worry,  little  mother ;  it  will  all  come  out 
right." 

"  Yes,  that's  what  you  always  say ;  that's  what  I 
used  to  keep  saying  when  I  was  your  age;  but  that 
don't  help  to  pay  the  rent  or  the  food  or  the  doctor 
and  medicine  bills  for  Adam.  Ah,  I  am  so  full  of 
troubles.  No  one  has  so  much  as  we  do,  no  one! 
The  Company  has  raised  the  rent  a  dollar  again,  and 
they  keep  docking  the  boys  for  this  and  that — how 
can  we  stand  it?  Blessed  Virgin,  how  can  we  stand 
it  ?  She  sat  down  on  the  faded  plush  sofa,  placed  her 
hands  on  her  knees,  and  swayed  her  body  to  and  fro 
as  if  utterly  crushed  by  her  misery. 

She  seemed  to  gain  refreshment  from  the  peculiar 
movement;  and  she  arose  on  her  bare  feet  with  a 
start.  "  I  must  put  on  my  shoes  and  tidy  up  a  bit. 
Some  greenhorns  came  in  to-day,  and  maybe  I  can 
find  a  boarder.'*  She  wabbled  back  into  the  kitchen, 
and  despatched  Mary,  basket  in  hand,  to  look  for 
stray  coal  along  the  B.  &  O.  tracks.  She  changed 
her  dirty  blue  for  a  somewhat  cleaner  and  fresher 
calico  dress,  and  flung  the  black  shawl,  which  Wanda 
had  worn  in  the  morning,  over  her  head. 

Wanda  was  alone  now.  She  evidently  enjoyed 
loneliness,  for  she  jumped  up  and  down  like  a  child 
over  a  skipping-rope.  She  ran  to  the  rear  window, 
near  the  kitchen  door,  and  looked  out,  smiling.  From 
a  front  window  of  the  rear  tenement  that  faced  theirs, 
a  man  returned  Wanda's  smile  with  a  knowing  grin. 
Pretending  not  to  see  him,  as  if  she  had  been  gazing 
into  space,  Wanda  turned  away. 

"  Come  in !  "  she  shouted  in  answer  to  the  knock 
that  came  from  the  door  a  minute  or  two  later. 


60  BY  BREAD   ALONE 

Ignatz  Frank  poked  his  broad  slouch-hat  and  his 
still  broader  grin  through  the  door.  He  seemed  all 
grin  and  hat. 

"  Oh,  it's  you,  is  it,  Ignatz  ?  I  thought  you  were 
at  work  ? " 

"  I  work  from  eleven  to  eleven  this  week." 

"  That's  so,  I  forgot.  Well,  come  in ;  the  door 
might  shut  on  your  neck." 

He  drew  near  her,  his  hands  thrust  into  the  depths 
of  his  jeans — his  hands  were  never  out  of  his  pockets, 
they  seemed  to  grow  there  like  his  arms  to  his  shoul 
ders. 

"Is  your  mother  in?"  he  asked,  flushing  red,  the 
deep  scar  on  his  right  cheek  growing  whiter  by  con 
trast. 

"  Yes,  I  think  she's  in,"  replied  \Yanda  as  if  not 
quite  sure. 

"  I  saw  her  go  out,"  asserted  he. 

"  Perhaps  she  did  go  out  then.  I've  been  so  busy 
that  I've  had  no  chance  to  notice.  She'll  be  back  in 
a  minute  though." 

"  I'd  better  be  going  then,  eh,  Wanda?  " 

'  No,  there's  time.  Come  to  think  of  it  she  told  me 
when  she  went  out  that  she  might  be  gone  for  an 
hour." 

"  I  knew  I  saw  her  go  out,"  and  Ignatz  lurched  his 
head  towards  his  right  shoulder  in  the  pride  of  posi 
tive  knowledge. 

He  drew  nearer  Wanda,  his  hands  deeper  in  his 
pockets,  his  shoulders  lurching  forward  as  he  had 
lurched  his  head.  Wanda  smiled,  half  encouragingly, 
half  disapprovingly,  showing  the  red  gums  that  came 
far  down  on  her  white  uneven  teeth.  The  disapprov 
ing  half  of  the  girl's  smile  frightened  Ignatz.  He 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     61 

withdrew  to  a  corner,  sat  him  down  on  a  chair  and 
filled  his  pipe. 

"  My  mother  will  smell  the  smoke,"  objected  Wan 
da,  not  looking  up  from  her  work  over  the  stove. 

"  It's  not  cheap  tobacco,"  he  explained,  "  I  only 
smoke  it  here." 

"  Well,  you  can  smoke,  I'll  open  the  door  after 
wards." 

"  Thanks,"  he  lapsed  into  silence  again,  puffing 
heavily. 

"  Wanda,"  he  said  suddenly,  curling  the  end  of  his 
long  brown  mustache — it  coiled  at  the  ends  like  a 
spring — "  do  you  know  anybody  that  will  write  a  let 
ter  for  me  ?  " 

"  I  can,  Ignatz." 

"  No,  not  you,  Wanda." 

"Why  not?     Don't  you  think  I  can  write?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  blushed  confusedly,  the  scar  turning 
white,  "  oh,  yes,  but  I  want  to  write  the  letter  to  you." 
He  blurted  the  last  two  words  of  the  sentence  out  as 
if  they  had  been  hot  coals. 

"  To  me  ?  You  want  to  write  a  letter  to  me  ?  "  She 
affected  surprise,  but  the  strange  proposition  was  by 
no  means  a  new  one. 

"  Yes,"  he  reasserted,  "  to  you." 

She  brushed  by  him,  lightly,  lightly.  "  If  it's  to  me, 
why  don't  you  tell  me  instead  of  writing?  I  can  hear 
as  well  as  I  can  see.'' 

"  Perhaps — maybe  I'll  come  in  to-morrow  and  tell 
you."  He  arose. 

"  But  you  said  the  same  thing  yesterday  and  the 
day  before."  She  drew  nearer  him. 

"Did  I?" 

"  Certainly  you  did." 


62  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Well,  I  oughtn't  to  say  the  same  thing  twice  over. 
I  won't  say  it  to-morrow." 

"  But  you  just  said  you  would  tell  me  to-morrow." 

"  Yes,  I  will.     No,  I  won't." 

She  felt  contrite  for  having  thrown  him  into  such 
confusion,  and  she  drew  nearer  him,  smiling  consol 
ingly,  showing  her  red  gums  and  her  white  uneven 
teeth.  '  Tell  me,"  she  begged,  enticingly,  brushing 
against  him. 

"  I  must  go  now,"  he  pleaded,  his  hand  on  the  door 
knob. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  Wanda  expostulated,  "  I  have 
something  to  show  you."  She  had  an  inspiration. 
She  walked  into  the  parlor;  Ignatz  followed,  won 
dering. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  this  picture?  "  Wanda  lifted  the 
wedding  photograph  out  of  the  glass  case  and  handed 
it  to  her  diffident  lover.  He  held  it  gingerly,  his 
mouth  open. 

"  How  do  you  think  we  would  look  like  that?" 

"  Very — I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  he  stammered. 

"  Do  you  think  you  could  stand  like  this,  one  hand 
at  your  side,  your  right  arm  crossed  on  your  breast 
so  that  I  could  slip  my  left  arm  through  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  think "  he  looked  at  the  door  un 
easily. 

"  Let's  try  it." 

"  I  haven't  time  now — it's  getting  near  eleven."  His 
face  became  lividly  scarlet,  the  scar  on  it  lividly 
white. 

"  It  isn't  half-past  ten  yet."  she  protested. 

"  The  clock  must  be  wrong." 

"  But  it  will  only  take  a  minute."  She  crooked  her 
left  arm.  He  drew  his  right  hand  out  of  his  pocket, 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     63 

but  it  slipped  back  again  in  a  jiffy,  insisting  that  it 
belonged  there. 

"  You  are  afraid  of  me,  Ignatz.  You  had  better 
go !  Never  come  back !  "  She  stamped  her  foot.  Her 
mother  might  be  back  any  minute  now,  and  an  occa 
sion  like  this  might  not  return  in  months. 

"  No,  I'm  not  afraid ;  not  one  bit,  Wanda ; — only." 

"Only!     Only  what?" 

His  arm  slipped  through  hers.  He  never  knew, 
although  afterwards  he  puzzled  about  it,  how  the 
thing  happened. 

"  That's  right,  Ignatz ;  that's  nice,"  she  encour 
aged.  "  Oh,  if  we  only  had  a  looking-glass !  How 
fine  that  would  be!  Let  your  left  hand  hang  down, 
way  down.  So !  Now  throw  your  head  back.  You 
see  I'm  holding  a  bouquet,  close  to  my  breast;  like 
this !  Don't  we  look  fine  ?  " 

"  Fine,  very  fine !  "  he  assented,  sheepishly.  His 
left  hand  stole  towards  his  pocket;  a  look  warned 
him. 

"  I  think  white  roses  would  make  a  prettier  bou 
quet  than  those  weeds,  don't  you  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Which  cost  the  most,   Wanda?" 

"  White  roses  of  course." 

"  I  think  the  white  weeds  are  pretty,  Wanda." 

"  Very  well,  Ignatz,  I'll  take  the  white  weeds.  But 
I  could  get  along  with  a  small  bouquet  of  roses.  Per 
haps  six  would  be  enough."  Her  fingers  interlocked 
in  his  with  a  warm  pressure,  and  she  smiled  beam 
ingly  on  him,  showing  her  gleaming  teeth  and  her  red 
gums. 

"  I'll  buy  you  the  white  roses,  if  you  like,  Wanda." 

The  warm  pressure  of  her  fingers,   her  amorous 


64  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

looks  thawed  him,  thrilled  him,  and  he  spoke  absently, 
without  thought. 

"  There,  I  knew  you  would !  You're  a  dear  fellow, 
Ignatz,  so  generous  !  " 

They  embraced — another  thing  which  he  puzzled 
about  afterwards  and  could  never  explain.  A  slight 
noise  came  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  door.  They 
turned  as  one,  shocked.  Mary's  smutty  face  was 
pressed  flat  to  the  glass,  her  mouth  wide  open,  her 
eyes  gleaming  like  two  candles.  The  child  disap 
peared  as  if  she  had  dropped  through  the  floor.  Ig 
natz  made  good  his  escape. 

When  Mrs.  Brodski  came  back  she  dropped  into  a 
kitchen  chair,  exhausted,  her  hands  clasped  on  her 
knees,  swaying  her  squabby  body  back  and  forth.  "  I 
couldn't  get  anybody,"  she  sobbed,  "  the  greenhorns 
are  all  going  to  board  with  relatives.  Ko  one  has  so 
much  trouble  as  we  do ;  no  one  in  the  world."  She 
ceased  her  plaint,  sniffing  the  pungent  odor  of  the 
tobacco  suddenly.  "  Who's  been  here,  Wanda  ?  "  she 
asked. 

"  No  one,  little  mother." 

"  Perhaps  you  smoke  a  strong  pipe  ?  "  she  growled 
sarcastically. 

"  Well,  Ignatz  Frank  was  here." 

"  I  thought  as  much.  T  can  never  trust  you  alone. 
He  always  steals  your  time  when  I'm  gone.  You 
ought  to  work,  you  ought  to  help ;  there's  so  much  to 
do,  and  I  can't  do  it  all.  I've  worked  myself  to  a 
bone  now." 

"  Don't  scold,  little  mother.  He  won't  waste  my 
time  much  longer  now." 

"Eh?" 

"  We  are  going  to  be  married  soon." 


A  GRAIN  IN  THE  HOPPER     65 

Mrs.  Brodski's  face  darkened,  then  it  lit  up  again. 
Two  thoughts  flashed  over  her  mind;  there  would  be 
one  less  to  help  her  with  the  work,  there  would  be  one 
less  to  feed  and  clothe. 

Wanda  bent  over  and  kissed  her  affectionately,  and 
the    tears    trickled    down    her    mother's    careworn, 
wrinkled  cheeks. 
5 


VI 
THE  NEW  HOME 

SIX  o'clock  of  the  first  Sunday  morning  that 
Blair  passed  in  Marvin  had  found  him  with 
his  shift  before  the  cast-houses.  There  is  no 
iron  to  be  converted  into  steel  that  day  (the  rail 
and  plate  and  steel-mills  are  shut  for  repairs)  but 
the  belching  fires  are  never  allowed  to  die  down 
and  the  product  of  the  furnaces  is  used  for  making 
pig.  The  whole  floor  is  divided  into  ribbed  squares 
and  the  surface  is  flooded  with  the  molten  metal.  In 
wooden  shoes  the  men  cross  the  flaming  pavement  and 
with  their  tools  tear  the  pigs  from  the  sows.  The  heat 
rains,  deluges  down,  perceptible  as  hail.  The  iron  bars 
crunch  down  on  the  surface ;  the  wooden  shoes  clatter, 
and  the  men  rush  back  out  of  the  tempest  of  swirling 
heat,  unable  to  endure  more  than  a  few  minutes  at  a 
time. 

Every  second  Sunday  the  shifts  change  from  day 
to  night,  from  night  to  day ;  and  the  furnace  gang 
works  twenty-four  excruciating  hours  at  a  stretch. 
It  is  beyond  human  endurance,  and  this  toiling  hu 
manity  endures  it  only  at  the  cost  of  prematurely  bent 
bodies  and  shortened  lives. 

When  at  length  Monday  morning  came  and  the 
dawn  broke,  Blair  greeted  it  with  moist  eyes,  due  half 
to  exhaustion  and  half  to  rejoicing.  The  thought  of 

66 


THE  NEW  HOME  67 

returning  to  the  close,  repulsive  room  over  the  Croa 
tian  saloon,  where  he  had  lodged  during  that  first 
week,  nauseated  him,  and  he  resolved  to  move  his 
bundle  to  better  quarters — to  move  it  to  worse  were 
impossible — but  when  he  arrived  thither  he  was  too 
tired  to  care,  and  he  tumbled  over  on  the  bedding,  red 
with  iron  rust,  still  warm  from  the  body  of  the  lodger 
who  had  just  left  it. 

On  Tuesday  his  spirit  was  less  lethargic,  his  heed- 
lessness  to  his  surroundings  deserted  him  and  he  de 
serted  his  surroundings.  Unmindful  of  direction, 
Blair  walked  south  towards  the  Polish  quarter  on  a 
sidewalk  that  ran  midway  through  a  deep  pool  of  water 
dividing  it  like  a  pontoon  bridge.  An  angry  glare  of 
red  snarled  up  from  the  mill  chimneys,  crossed  the 
sky  and  shimmered  like  a  ripple  over  the  face  of  the 
waters,  passing  with  a  flare  into  their  depths  as  if  in 
desperate  search  for  treasure-trove.  The  shadow  of 
the  flame  on  the  waters  reminded  Blair  of  blood;  and 
he  shuddered  as  he  walked  on. 

"  Hello !  "  He  blocked  the  progress  of  Paul  Brod- 
ski.  The  boy  recognized  his  defender,  but  for  some 
reason  he  seemed  anxious  to  avoid  him. 

"  Don't  you  remember  me?  " 

The  boy  nodded  bashfully. 

"  Do  you  speak  English  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  reluctantly. 

The  lurid  light  from  the  converters  threw  their  two 
figures  in  strong  relief,  silhouetting  them  against  the 
dense  blackness  of  the  night. 

"  Thanks,"  said  Paul  suddenly. 

"Thanks,   for   what?"   asked   Blair. 

"  Vorlinski,"  answered   Paul. 

"  Oh,  I  almost  forgot." 


68  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  I  no  forget,"  asserted  Paul,  as  if  ashamed  of  his 
gratitude. 

"  What's  your  name?  " 

"Paul— Paul  Brodski." 

"  Polish?" 

"  Yes,  I  be,"  he  replied  hesitatingly,  as  if  not  overly 
proud  of  the  fact. 

"  Well,  good  night,  Paul,"  and  Blair  hastened  on. 
He  turned  with  a  start  and  called,  "  O  Paul !  "  The 
boy  halted  and  came  forward. 

"  I'm  looking  for  a  place  to  board  and  room,  do 
you  know  of  one?  " 

Paul  shook  his  blond  head.  Again  Blair  moved  on. 
The  arc  lamp  that  hung  from  the  tower  of  the  Catho 
lic  school  swung  like  a  lantern  in  the  hands  of  a 
switchman,  breaking  the  darkness  with  an  oscillating 
semicircle  of  light  that  shone  far  down  the  unillu- 
mined  track  of  the  night. 

Some  one,  out  of  breath,  panted  beside  Blair.  "  I 
know  a  place.  Not  English.  You  come?" 

Blair  thought  a  second.  "  Yes,  I'll  come."  They 
plowed  ahead,  Paul  leading  the  way. 

"  Paul,  how  old  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  be  fifteen,  sixteen  soon." 

Blair  nodded.  His  guess  hazarded  those  years. 
The  boy's  husky  voice,  his  clumsy  limbs,  sprawling 
for  growth,  his  whole  manner  proclaimed  the  awk 
ward  age.  He  would  be  powerful  when  he  attained 
his  growth,  handsome  when  his  features  settled  into 
regularity. 

"  Did  you  ever  go  to  school,  Paul  ?  " 

"  Yes,  three  months,"  he  answered  reluctantly, 
ashamed  of  both  his  ignorance  and  his  poverty. 

"  You  quit  pretty  soon,  didn't  you  ?  " 


THE  NEW  HOME  69 

"  No ;  yes  ;  yes;  no,"  he  answered  in  a  breath.  "  The 
teacher,  she  has  red  hair,  she  only  likes  girls  and  she 
sends  me  away."  Both  of  the  reasons  were  good ;  one 
of  them  ought  to  be  valid. 

Blair  laughed  aloud.  Paul  flushed  with  anger. 
He  moved  ahead,  trying  to  keep  out  of  range  of  his 
examiner  and  his  fire  of  questions.  They  were  home 
now  and  Paul  was  heartily  glad  of  it.  Mrs.  Brodski 
looked  up  in  amazement.  A  bird  of  paradise  was  as 
rare  a  visitor  to  her  house  as  an  American.  Con 
strained,  timid,  she  nodded  an  indifferent  welcome  to 
Blair.  Mary  and  Anna  hid  their  towsled  heads  under 
their  mother's  skirts,  like  ducklings  under  the  mater 
nal  wing.  Thomas  crawled  along  the  floor  and 
clutched  her  ankles ;  she  boxed  his  ears. 

"  It's  the  man  who  saved  me  from  Vorlinski,"  ex 
plained  Paul,  in  Polish.  "  He  is  looking  for  a  place — 
he  wants  to  room  with  us." 

Mrs.  Brodski  opened  her  mouth  wide.  An  Ameri 
can  to  room  with  a  Polish  family !  "  You  are  up  to 
your  tricks  again !  I  know  you !  "  and  she  rubbed  her 
knuckles  across  the  tip  of  her  nose,  wondering  what 
the  trick  might  be.  "  Room  with  us,  nothing!  I  sup 
pose  you  let  Vorlinski  know  on  the  sly  that  he  was 
coming," — she  had  reached  her  conclusion, — "  so  that 
they  might  have  a  fight  here.  I  know  you !  You 
want  to  bring  the  police  here !  " 

Paul  stood  aghast;  before  he  had  time  to  recover 
his  breath  at  his  mother's  fantastic  imagining,  she 
cuffed  him  with  her  open  hand. 

"  He  wants  to  room  with  us,  I  tell  you !  "  he 
howled. 

Blair  was  embarrassed  to  nervousness.  He  divined 
easily  enough  that  he  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble, 


7° 


BY  BREAD   ALONE 


but  just  what  the  trouble  was  that  he  had  caused  lay 
beyond  his  powers  of  divination.  He  wished  to  go, 
yet  going  had  too  much  the  air  of  slinking  away.  He 
stood  his  ground,  praying  for  relief.  Wanda,  Michael 
and  Jan  were  playing  preference  on  the  dining-room 
table,  their  minds  and  eyes  more  engaged  with  the 
stranger  who  had  just  entered  than  with  their  cards. 
On  hearing  Paul's  cry  they  entered  the  kitchen  to 
discover  the  nature  of  the  trouble.  They  smiled  at 
their  mother's  explanation  and  laughed  outright  at 
Paul's  quandary.  Blair's  choice  was  peculiar  enough ; 
but  since  they  were  sadly  in  need  of  a  boarder,  why 
quibble  over  a  mere  conjecture?  Matters  were  ad 
justed  in  a  trice.  Twenty-five  cents  a  day  was  to  pay 
for  Blair's  board  and  lodging.  He  was  shown  his 
quarters — a  cubby-hole  off  the  dining-room.  A  chair 
and  a  bed  with  two  feather  mattresses  comprised  the 
furniture. 

Long  after  Blair  was  asleep,  the  family  sat  up  to 
discuss  their  new  boarder.  Cards  were  laid  aside. 

"  I  can't  get  it  in  my  head,"  Mrs.  Brodski  kept 
exclaiming,  "  what  he  wants  in  a  Polish  family.  I 
never  heard  of  such  a  thing !  " 

"  Well,  you  see,  ma,"  was  Paul's  constant  explana 
tion,  "  he  saved  me  from  a  whipping  and  now  he 
wants  to  know  the  family." 

"  Dunce,  keep  still,"  she  commanded.  "  What  kind 
of  a  reason  is  that  ?  " 

"  Bah,"  growled  Jan,  "  I  suppose  he  came  here 
because  it's  cheap.  Raise  the  price  if  you  want  to  get 
rid  of  him." 

Mrs.  Brodski  groaned.  "  I  don't  want  to  send  him 
away.  Here  I've  been  praying  night  and  day  for  a 


THE  NEW  HOME  71 

boarder,  and  now  that  I've  got  one,  .you  want  to  send 
him  away !  Such  sons  as  I  have !  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  send  him  away,  ma,"  put  in  Paul, 
"  I  brought  him  here."  The  opportunity  seemed  fa 
vorable  for  getting  the  credit  due  him. 

"  You !  You  had  no  business  to  bring  him  here. 
He  comes  for  no  good  purpose,  mark  that !  He  wants 
to  make  fun  of  us  or ' 

"  Well  then,  ma,  send  him  away,"  retorted  Paul, 
his  feelings  hurt. 

She  rubbed  the  tip  of  her  nose.  "  You  -just  let  me 
catch  you  at  that.  You  want  to  take  the  bread  out  of 
your  sister's  mouth.  I  know  you !  " 

Wanda  took  no  part  in  the  conversation.  She  did 
not  even  listen.  Her  brain  was  busy  building  ro 
mances  and  Ignatz  Frank  had  no  place  in  the  romances 
she  builded.  Blair  was  a  wonderful  man  to  her — 
a  very  perfect  modern  knight ;  heroic,  handsome,  a 
world  removed  from  the  men  of  her  work-a-day 
world.  Her  blue  eyes  became  larger  and  more 
dreamy,  and  her  breast  heaved  with  her  deep  breath 
ing.  Jan  noticed  her  preoccupation ;  nothing  escaped 
his  still  gaze — ever.  His  face  puckered  into  .a  scowl 
and  the  lines  on  his  forehead  creased ;  but  not  a  word 
did  he  say. 

Through  the  succeeding  days  Jan  kept  his  eyes  on 
Blair  closely;  and  the  more  he  watched  their  new 
boarder  the  better  was  he  pleased ;  for  he  observed 
that  Blair  avoided  Wanda,  that  he  was  even  gruff  to 
her  at  times,  that  he  showed  no  desire  to  rival  Ignatz 
either  seriously  as  a  lover,  or  lightly  to  gratify  his 
vanity.  Wanda,  on  the  other  hand,  showered  atten 
tions  down  upon  Blair  in  increasing  proportion  to  his 
desire  to  escape  them. 


72  BY   BREAD   ALONE 

Jan  was  not  without  sympathy,  rough  as  it  may 
have  been  in  grain ;  he  was  wise  enough  to  under 
stand  the  qualities  that  made  Blair  attractive  to  Wan 
da,  just  as  he  was  sharp  enough  to  discern  that  those 
qualities  were  not  common  to  the  ordinary  laborer. 
What  the  man's  mission  among  them  was  Jan  never 
ceased  to  inquire;  but  he  never  ceased  to  believe  that 
it  would  discover  itself  in  due  season ;  at  any  rate,  and 
for  the  present,  he  trusted  him,  he  even  liked  him ;  for 
Jan  wished  to  save  his  sister  pain  and  fruitless  repent 
ance  and  he  was  rejoiced  to  find  this  stranger  a  man 
of  honor. 

As  the  days  went  on  Jan's  liking  for  Blair  increased 
to  a  rough  affection,  and  with  even  quicker  pace  Blair 
won  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  .the  other  members  of 
the  Brodski  family.  They  were  no  longer  bashful  or 
constrained  when  he  was  present ;  they  accepted  him, 
like  the  rest  of  the  household,  as  a  mattter  of  course. 
Mary,  Anna  and  Thomas  waited  longingly  for  his 
return  from  work ;  with  pencil  and  paper,  with  a  knife 
and  a  stick  of  wood,  he  knew  how  .to  bring  laughter 
to  their  pinched  faces,  joy  to  their  starved  hearts. 
His  pennies,  freely  distributed,  bound  them  to  him 
with  double  cords.  He  was  always  cheerful  and  pleas 
ant  ;  he  brought  sunshine  into  the  dark  house.  Even 
Mrs.  Brodski  felt  the  spell  of  Blair's  magnetic  per 
sonality  ;  when  he  was  home  bickering  ceased,  the 
children  annoyed  her  less,  and  there  was  merriment 
in  the  house.  Now  and  then  he  made  her  a  present 
of  some  trifle,  and  that  delighted  her ;  no  one  had 
ever  given  her  anything  before,  she  knew  not  what  to 
make  out  of  it ;  and  she  would  stammer  out  her  clum 
sy  thanks.  Gradually,  like  the  children,  she  found 
herself  watching  the  clock  for  his  coming. 


THE  NEW  HOME  73 

He  taught  Paul  the  rudiments  of  learning.  He 
proved  an  apt  and  willing  pupil,  astonishing  his  master 
at  the  rapid  progress  he  made,  at  the  leaps  and  jumps 
with  which  he  bounded  along.  In  the  spring  one 
can  sometimes  fairly  hear  the  grass  grow;  and  it 
seemed  to  Blair  that  he  could  hear,  rather  than  feel  or 
see,  the  change  going  on  in  Paul's  body  and  mind. 
Under  the  surface  of  Paul's  boyishness,  Blair  soon 
discovered  a  depth  of  seriousness  and  thoughtfulness 
at  which  he  marveled  more  than  at  the  lad's  aptitude. 

Blair  learned  preference  that  he  might  play  with 
Michael,  Jan  and  Wanda;  and  he  insisted  that  the 
mother  play  with  them,  which  she  did  reluctantly  at 
first,  with  avidity  afterwards,  when  she  understood 
the  points  of  the  game.  Often  the  cards  were  laid 
aside  and  they  chatted  and  sipped  beer.  Tact 
fully  Blair  would  lead  the  conversation,  never  as  if  he 
were  searching  for  information  or  knowledge,  always 
as  if  he  were  offering  them.  Michael,  in  his  broken 
English,  talked  freely;  Jan,  rarely;  the  oldest  brother 
was  reticent  to  taciturnity,  and  he  generally  sat  in  si 
lence,  plucking  at  his  red  beard  and  gazing  dreamily 
into  space  with  his  large  blue  eyes.  Dreaminess  was 
a  salient  characteristic  of  the  family,  common  to  them 
all  as  the  flat  nose,  the  blond  hair  and  the  blue  eyes. 
It  struck  Blair  forcibly  in  his  observations  of  the  chil 
dren,  of  Paul,  of  Wanda,  of  Michael  and  Jan;  the 
differences  were  those  of  degree  only. 


VII 
AN  IDYLL  OF  THE  MILLS 

WANDA'S  household  work  was  done  and  she 
strolled    out  to    the    porch,    wrapped  in    her 
black    shawl    to    wait    for    Ignatz.     A    few 
evenings  ago  she  had  had  a  confidential  talk  with  Jan 
and  another  one  with  Blair ;  and  as  a  result  of  both  the 
young  woman  was  inclined  to     take   Blair  less  and 
Ignatz  more  seriously. 

Ignatz  came  lurching  along,  his  hands  in  his  trou 
sers.  Arm  in  arm,  they  moved  in  silence  down  the 
poorly-lit  street.  Mill  hands  trudged  past  them, 
dinner-pails  in  hand,  their  heads  bent  to  the  ground. 

4<  It's  a  nice  evening,"  ventured  Ignatz,  cautiously. 

"  A  beautiful  evening,  Ignatz,"  she  answered, 
affirmatively. 

He  felt  relieved  to  discover  that  she  agreed  with 
him,  and  they  strolled  on  again  in  silence.  They 
climbed  down  a  row  of  wooden  steps  and  turned  east 
ward. 

"  Hello!  Where  are  you  two  going?  "     It  was  Paul. 

"  Just  out,"  replied  Ignatz,  confusedly. 

"  Can  I  go  with  you  ?  "  asked  Paul,  with  a  grin. 

"  No,  you  can't,"  replied  Wanda,  positively. 

"Why  not?"  he  queried,  affecting  innocence. 

"  Because  we  don't  want  you,  that's  why,"  she  re 
torted. 

74 


AN  IDYLL  OF  THE  MILLS     75 

"  All  right,  I'll  go  on  the  other  side  of  the  street." 

"  Don't  you  follow  us,"  she  commanded. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  follow  you.  Marvin  is  big 
enough  for  three  people,  I  guess." 

"  Well,   we're  going  towards  the  lake." 

"  I  was  going  that  way  too." 

"  Well,  we  will  go  south." 

"  I  can  go  that  way  just  as  well." 

They  strolled  towards  the  lake.  Paul  tagged  at 
their  heels  for  a  while,  whistling ;  then  he  disappeared 
in  the  darkness. 

Ignatz  and  Wanda  slipped  by  the  switch-tender  who 
stood  on  guard  near  the  long  stretch  of  tracks  that 
radiated  in  the  direction  of  the  railway  bridge.  It 
was  the  one  corner  of  the  mill-yard  not  hedged  in  by 
fences.  Purring,  laboring  engines  were  carrying  out 
loads  of  plate  and  rails.  Ignatz  guided  Wanda's  steps 
carefully  and  they  walked  on  in  safety  through  that 
maze  of  tracks  and  whirling  cars  to  the  slip  of  Steel 
river,  the  blue  waters  of  which,  commingling  with  the 
still  bluer  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  formed  the  ex 
treme  southern  boundary  of  the  plant. 

Wanda  and  Ignatz  sat  down  on  a  low  pile  of  timber 
close  to  the  edge  of  the  narrow  straight  slip.  It  had 
turned  cold  and  clear — a  night  suggesting  the  last  of 
October  rather  than  the  first  of  December.  The  smoke 
from  the  stacks  of  the  blast-furnaces  was  swept  out  on 
the  lake  in  a  southerly  direction.  The  stars  shone 
sparkling  and  alive  in  the  undimmed  sky. 

A  watchman  paced  up  and  down  his  narrow  beat 
restlessly.  He  heard  the  voices  of  the  pair  and  he 
rushed  towards  them.  "  What  are  you  doing  here?  " 
he  challenged  in  a  slow  English,  heavy  with  a  foreign 
accent. 


76  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Just  taking  the  air,"  answered  Ignatz,  indiffer 
ently,  squeezing  Wanda's  hand  with  a  sly  knowing 
pressure. 

"  Get  out  right  away,"  said  the  man  harshly,,  taking 
his  stand  squarely  in  front  of  them. 

The  revolving  light  from  the  lamp  in  the  lighthouse 
tower,  which  stood  on  the  Company's  ground  a  stone's 
throw  from  them,  flared  full  on  the  myrmidon,  dis 
closing  a  scarred  face,  striated,  disfigured,  and  two 
vacant  eyes. 

The  light  shifted  slowly,  falling  opposite  on  the  long 
pier  that  ran  far  out  into  the  lake  and  on  the  gro 
tesque  lumber  piles  that  freighted  the  opposite  shore, 
then  the  rays  glittered  amid  the  violet  pyramid  of 
smoke  that  streamed  from  the  chimneys  of  the  oil- 
works  in  the  direction  of  Hammond,  winging  its  way 
across  the  Indiana  border. 

"  If  you  don't  go,  I'll  put  you  out!  "  screamed  the 
watchman. 

"  No  you  won't,  Bozic;  it's  me,  Ignatz  Frank." 

"  Why  didn't  you  say  so?  All  right,"  and  the  Bohe 
mian  paced  on  again  towards  the  stone  building  that 
made  the  home  of  the  lighthouse-keeper. 

"  It's  good  to  know  somebody,  ain't  it  now?  "  laughed 
Wanda,  pleased  to  find  her  lover  a  man  of  influence 
who  might  go  where  he  chose,  undisturbed. 

"  Yes.  Bozic's  blind ;  stone  blind.  You  wouldn't 
guess  it,  would  you?  He  got  horribly  hurt  in  an  ex 
plosion  in  the  steel-mill.  I  was  at  his  side  when  it 
happened.  No  one  thought  he  would  get  over  it,  but 
he  did.  The  Company  gave  him  this  job  for  life." 

Again  the  blind  man  paced  past  them,  his  hands 
crossed  behind  his  back,  moving  on  with  the  surety  of 
perfect  sight. 


AN  IDYLL  OF  THE  MILLS     77 

"  I'm  glad  it  wasn't  you,"  she  said,  her  arms  sweep 
ing  around  his  neck,  "  he's  a  nasty  sight." 

Ignatz  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  My  turn  may 
come  at  any  time." 

"  Don't  say  that — don't,"  she  shuddered,  drawing 
him  to  her.  '*  There  he  goes  again.  I  wish  that  he'd 
find  somewhere  else  to  watch." 

"  What's   the    difference ;   he   can't   see." 

They  plunged  into  self-forgetfulness  again,  unmind 
ful  of  the  hoarse  clangor  and  the  violent  throbbing  of 
the  mills  at  work.  The  poetry  of  the  night  was  having 
its  mysterious  effect  even  on  these  unpoetical  natures. 

An  iron  steamer  swam  gracefully  down  the  slip  and 
whistled  sharply  to  the  tender  on  the  railroad  bridge 
to  swing  and  let  it  pass.  A  deck  hand  standing  near 
the  headlight  in  the  bow  caught  sight  of  the  loving 
swains  on  shore. 

"  Break  away  there,"  he  shouted. 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  be  in  my  place  ?  "  Ignatz  was 
about  to  reply. 

"  Hush !  "  Wanda  patted  his  cheek  lightly,  but  un 
embarrassed  clung  tighter  to  his  neck. 

The  steamer  glided  away  through  the  open  bridge, 
up  the  slip,  and  into  Lake  Michigan. 

Bozic,  the  blind  guard,  marched  wearily  by  them 
as  the  night  grew  darker  and  as  the  lights  from  the 
mills  were  more  lurid  and  the  colors  more  vivid,  and 
the  midnight  approached.  He  heard  them  laugh  and 
sing,  and  he  shook  his  head  gravely,  sighing  with  sad 
ness  inexpressible.  He  was  thinking  of  his  youth,  of 
the  days  and  nights  of  love  and  happiness,  of  his  crip 
pled  countenance  and  his  good  looks  destroyed,  and 
he  cursed  the  mills  as  the  minutes  dragged  on  and 
Ignatz  and  Wanda  threw  reserve  to  the  winds. 


VIII 
THE  SHINDIG 

ONE  Saturday  night  when  the  Brodskis  and  Blair 
had  just  settled  down  to  a  game  of  prefer 
ence,  Ignatz  Frank  came  in  to  ask  Wanda  to 
attend  a  '*  shindig,"  suggesting  that  perhaps  the 
others  might  wish  to  go.  Blair  and  Jan  accepted 
eagerly.  Michael  left  the  house  at  once  to  invite 
his  betrothed,  Irma  Ludwig;  and  he  joined  the 
party  with  her.  The  beauty  of  Michael's  intended 
struck  Blair  at  once ;  her  slight,  graceful  form,  her 
black  hair  and  eyes,  met  Wanda  with  an  opposite  at 
every  point. 

The  sextet  left  the  house,  hastened  through  Polish 
town  and  turned  up  R  street.  An  immense  silvered 
dumb-bell  extended  from  the  signboard  of  a  corner 
saloon.  They  clambered  up  the  elevated  platform  and 
entered.  A  gigantic  Pole,  in  a  cardigan  jacket,  stood 
behind  the  bar.  In  a  corner  of  the  room  was  a  row  of 
iron  dumb-bells,  running  from  one  to  five  hundred 
pounds  in  weight ;  with  these  the  proprietor  exhibit 
ed  his  strength  to  his  patrons,  hence  the  name  and  the 
sign  of  the  place. 

They  passed  into  the  dance-hall  at  the  rear  of  the 
saloon.  Blair  counted  some  twenty  couples  sitting 
around  the  wooden  benches  that  ranged  along  the  wall 
of  the  low  oblong  room.  They  were  all  Polish,  he 

78 


THE  SHINDIG  79 

could  tell  at  a  glance.  The  men  looked  scrubbed  and 
clean  in  their  baggy  Sunday  clothes;  some  of  them 
still  cleaner  in  white  shirts ;  some  cleaner  still  in  white 
shirt  and  collar;  others  cleanest  of  all  in  the  finished 
toilet  of  white  shirt,  white  collar  and  white  tie.  All 
wore  their  hats.  The  women,  with  some  few  excep 
tions,  were  blond,  although  the  degrees  of  blondness 
varied.  Stooped  shoulders,  arms  that  hung  stiff  as 
sticks,  large  rough  hands  that  swung  from  the  arms, 
like  buckets  attached  to  poles,  proclaimed  them  work 
ing  women.  They  were  dressed  for  the  greater  part 
in  quiet  colors  and  drab ;  one  scarlet  waist  was  conspic 
uous  by  contrast.  Tawdry  jewelry  confined  its  lav- 
ishness  to  large  brooches — harp  and  heart-shaped — 
and  thick  bracelets. 

The  men  were  smoking :  the  malodor  of  pungent 
pipe  tobacco  clogged  the  air.  The  kerosene  lamp 
suspended  in  the  center  of  the  ceiling  twinkled  like 
a  lone  star  through  the  mist. 

It  was  solemnly  quiet.  The  male  portion  was  talk 
ing  constrainedly  to  the  female  portion,  which  was  ill- 
at-ease  and  evidently  not  overly  well  acquainted  with 
the  talkers.  The  big  saloon-keeper,  in  his  cardigan 
jacket,  stood  in  a  corner,  rubbing  his  smooth  chin, 
yawning,  waiting  for  the  dancing  and  the  drinking  to 
begin.  Blair  was  eyed  suspiciously ;  he  bore  the  ob 
vious  marks  of  the  stranger  and  the  foreigner.  He 
felt  that  he  was  out  of  place ;  but  with  characteristic 
stubbornness  he  resolved  to  find  a  place  into  which  he 
would  fit. 

Jan  found  the  woman  he  wanted,  and,  taking  it 
for  granted  that  the  woman  wanted  him,  he  quietly 
seated  himself  beside  the  object  of  his  choice.  Blair 
squeezed  himself  into  an  unoccupied  corner,  with  that 


8o  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

blissful  feeling,  singular  and  unique,  which  can  come 
only  when  one  knows  one  is  being  talked  about  in  a 
language  which  one  does  not  understand  and  by  speak 
ers  to  whom  one  apprehends  that  one  is  disagreeable. 
He  observed  everything,  although  he  appeared  to  be 
observing  nothing,  a  sleight  he  had  acquired  by  ap 
pearing  to  bend  his  eyes  on  the  floor,  when  in  reality 
they  were  bent  everywhere  but  there.  He  shook  his 
foot  nervously  and  admired  the  brilliancy  of  people 
who  could  converse  in  Polish. 

A  girl  entering  without  an  escort  made  for  a  seat. 
Gathering  his  courage,  Blair  edged  towards  her.  She 
returned  answers  to  his  polite  questions  in  broken  Eng 
lish,  ashamed  of  both  her  English  and  her  native 
tongue ;  between  the  two  she  excoriated  his  superior 
ity  in  Polish  unexpressed.  They  rapidly  became  the 
cynosure  of  a  fleering  crowd,  whose  fleers  the  girl 
understood,  and  her  rubber-like  lips  spread  in  a  grin 
from  ear  to  ear  and  she  blushed  from  her  chin  to  her 
forehead.  Some  choice  Polish  maledictions  died  in 
silence  at  the  bottom  of  her  angry  heart.  Wanda  saw 
Blair's  predicament  and  she  came  to  his  rescue,  Ignatz 
Frank  tagging  sheepishly  at  her  heels.  Affairs  went 
better  with  Blair ;  the  grins  ebbed  to  nothing  and  the 
crowd  became  silent  and  serious  again. 

Two  violinists  and  a  celloist  seated  themselves  in 
the  farther  end  of  the  room,  and  after  a  preliminary 
strumming  they  sawed  out  a  mazurka  on  their  twang- 
ling  instruments.  The  dancing  began.  Blair  offered 
his  arm  to  his  companion.  Another  obstacle  confront 
ed  him ;  he  knew  not  the  dance ;  but  the  girl  was 
patient,  gradually  feeling  more  at  home  with  her  com 
panion,  and  she  taught  him  the  step.  They  circled 
around  with  the  rest. 


THE  SHINDIG  81 

The  men  held  the  women  around  the  waist  tightly, 
their  bodies  drawn  firmly,  almost  squarely  together, 
swaying  as  one  to  the  right  and  left,  back  and  forth, 
accentuating  certain  steps  with  a  crash  of  the  foot 
against  the  floor. 

The  musicians  tucked  their  handkerchiefs  under 
their  chins  and  played  quicker  and  louder,  in  a  mono 
toned,  even  manner  that  worked  insidiously  and  persist 
ently  on  the  senses. 

Blair  found  amusement  in  the  change.  His  finer 
senses  were  stirred  like  the  coarser  ones  of  the  others. 
He  drank  with  the  rest  as  he  had  danced  with  them. 
His  body,  debilitated  by  the  week's  work,  craved  the 
strong  stimulant  and  enjoyed  the  vitality  quickened 
by  the  mixture  of  blackberry-brandy  and  alcohol. 
Idleness  and  overwork  are  mortal  enemies  to  temper 
ance.  The  music  ceased,  then  it  began  again,  and  the 
dancers  pirouetted  without  a  change  of  partners.  The 
musicians  removed  their  coats,  lit  their  pipes,  and 
settled  down  for  harder  work.  Perspiration  streamed 
from  every  face;  the  room  grew  hotter  and  hotter  to 
the  alcohol-heated  blood,  and  the  rays  from  the  lamp 
sank  lazily  through  the  air  made  thicker  and  thicker 
by  the  inexhaustible  smoke  from  the  pipes.  Now  and 
then  a  couple  broke  from  the  room,  ran  to  the  bar  and 
returned  to  resume  their  places  in  the  whirl;  others 
paused  to  take  their  refreshment  from  an  aproned  bar 
tender,  and  then  tripped  away  with  breath  more  vinous 
and  blood  more  tropical. 

The  hats  of  the  men  were  perched  far  back  on  their 
heads  ;  the  faces  of  the  women  were  the  red  of  scarlet. 
The  slow  sensuous  music,  impassioning  as  the  atmos 
phere  itself,  low,  stirring,  amorous,  went  on  and  on 
apace.  The  stamping  ceased ;  there  was  no  sound 
6 


Sa  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

but  the  notes  from  the  instruments;  no  noise;  no 
shouting ;  nothing  but  subdued  whispering.  It  was  all 
grimly  and  devilishly  in  earnest.  The  spirit  of  the 
occasion  resented  noise  as  an  interference  with  the  be 
wildering  effect  of  the  weird  music  and  the  quietude 
that  made  the  flesh  thrill. 

The  strong  drink  worked  its  swift  way  through 
Blair's  bone  and  marrow ;  and  he  was  conscious  that 
the  music  and  the  dance  were  effecting  a  persistent 
change.  He  struggled  against  it  at  first  with  all  his 
power ;  finally  he  succumbed.  The  girl  was  no  longer 
repulsive  to  him ;  her  calloused  hands  no  longer  made 
him  desire  to  withdraw  his  own  from  their  horny 
clasp ;  her  blowzy  face,  her  rubber-like  lips,  her  heavy 
features,  were  no  longer  repellent  to  him. 

A  huge  Pole  staggered  across  the  floor.  The  dan 
cers  made  way  before  his  uplifted  arm  and  threatening 
glances.  He  caught  Blair  by  the  arm  with  a  rough 
quick  jerk,  and  with  another  strong  pull  he  wrenched 
the  girl  from  him.  It  happened  so  quickly  and  un 
expectedly  that,  for  the  second,  Blair  believed  it  an 
apparition  of  his  superexcited  thought.  He  faced  the 
man,  prepared  to  dispute  his  authority.  The  high 
cheekbones,  protruding  like  two  knuckles,  the  small 
green  eyes, — it  was  Vorlinski ! 

"  What  are  you  doing  with  my  girl  ?  "  he  grunted 
in  his  broken  English,  his  lips  pressed  together  vicious 
ly.  "I'll  teach  you!  Can't  T  trust  you  alone  for  a 
minute !  "  he  howled  at  the  crirl,  wild  in  his  drunken 
double  jealousy.  His  right  hand  crashed  for  her  flat 
head.  Blair  intercented  the  blow.  He  was  nerved  for 
the  combat ;  sobered  and  steadied  for  what  he  knew 
must  be  the  decisive  battle. 

"  Let  her  alone,  you  coward !       Settle  with  me !  " 


THE  SHINDIG  83 

Quickly  he  followed  his  words  with  a  staggering  blow 
that  took  the  Polish  bully  under  the  chin.  Vorlinski 
fell  backwards,  the  blood  flowing  from  his  cut  tongue, 
howling  with  rage  and  pain  and  the  first  glimmer  of 
unexpected  defeat. 

The  dancing  had  ceased ;  the  musicians  plunged  for 
ward  in  their  shirt-sleeves  to  enjoy  the  not  unusual 
climax  to  the  weekly  festivities.  The  women  twined 
their  arms  around  their  lovers'  waists  and  looked  on 
stolidly,  annoyed  that  their  paradisiacal  bliss  should 
be  shocked  earthward  by  an  event  so  commonplace 
and  stale. 

"  Hello,  it's  you !  We'll  stand  by  you !  "  and  Jan 
and  Michael,  taking  in  the  situation,  rushed  forward 
to  the  assistance  of  their  friend  as  Vorlinski  was  rising 
to  his  feet. 

"  Never  mind ;  keep  away !  We'll  settle  this  now 
and  for  the  last  time/'  yelled  Blair  the  irate.  "  Stand 
back !  "  He  was  equal  to  the  occasion  and  sure  of  his 
man.  No  languor  of  body  or  physical  lassitude  could 
give  Vorlinski  the  unfair  advantage  now. 

The  gigantesque  saloon-keeper  rushed  between  the 
combatants.  "  We  can't  have  this !  "  he  shouted  in 
Polish,  "  the  police  will  be  here  in  a  minute.  They 
will  take  my  license."  It  angered  him  to  see  Blair 
gain  the  upper  hand  over  his  opponent ;  he  would  not 
have  interfered  had  the  battle  gone  the  other  way. 

"  Bother  your  license.  Can't  you  let  them  have  it 
out?  It  will  be  over  in  a  minute.  No  noise  now!  " 
and  Jan  and  Michael  pinioned  the  intruder  by  the 
wrists;  three  bystanders  came  to  their  assistance. 

It  was  as  still  again  as  if  the  dance  were  in  progress 
— more  silent  even.  No  one  spoke ;  they  were  anxious 


84  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

now  to  see  the  fight  move  to  a  finish,  fearful  only  of 
interruption  by  the  law. 

The  girl  with  whom  Blair  had  danced  tried  to  pre 
vent  his  arm  from  delivering  a  well-aimed  blow. 
Some  one  caught  her  by  the  wrist.  She  shrieked  curses 
at  the  man  to  whom  she  had  been  attracted  but  a  min 
ute  ago.  She  shrilled  another  horrible  malediction. 
A  rough  hand  was  planted  over  her  mouth. 

As  Blair's  right  arm  was  raised  defensively,  his  left 
arm  offensively,  he  caught  the  gleam  of  a  thin  short 
dirk,  half  concealed  in  Yorlinski's  clenched  fist.  He 
drew  his  arm  back  in  just  sufficient  time  to  save  its 
future  usefulness.  The  sleeve  of  his  coat  was  ripped 
down  its  entire  length ;  a  surface  scratch  down  the 
arm  marked  the  course  of  the  blade. 

The  crowd  saw,  but  it  uttered  no  murmur  of  com 
ment.  Strategy  was  part  of  that  game,  and  fair  play. 
Outwardly  Blair  was  calm  enough ;  inwardly  he  had 
all  the  fears  of  a  man  called  upon  to  face  death,  with 
hands  bound.  He  made  a  feint  with  his  left  fist, 
swinging  his  arm  circlewise ;  before  the  completion  of 
the  circle  he  dropped  it  back  to  his  side  and  kicked 
Vorlinski  full  in  the  stomach  with  his  right  foot.  His 
antagonist  was  sinking  to  the  floor  with  a  howl  of 
pain,  when  Blair  caught  the  hand  which  held  the 
blade,  and,  wrenching  the  wrist  with  all  his  strength, 
sprained  it.  Volinski's  most  valuable  weapon  was  left 
dead  weight.  The  knife  fell  and  sank  quivering  into 
the  rough  pine  boards.  Blair  drew  out  the  blade  and 
calmly  put  the  knife  in  his  pocket. 

The  alcohol  was  cooking  in  his  brain  ;  his  temper 
seethed  to  the  boiling  point ;  his  blood  beat  like  a 
hammer  at  his  temples.  The  dirk  was  tempting.  He 
thirsted  for  blood.  His  own  thoughts  frightened 


THE  SHINDIG  85 

him  far  more  than  his  antagonist.  He  could  have 
pounded  him  into  insensibility,  have  trampled  him  into 
unconsciousness,  have  choked  and  kicked  him  to 
death,  and  that  without  interference  from  any  of  the 
onlookers.  Vorlinski  still  lay  on  the  floor,  panting  for 
breath,  almost  fainting  from  the  torture  that  the 
wrenched  wrist  caused  him. 

With  arms  akimbo  Blair  waited,  controlling  himself 
by  degrees,  resolved  to  mete  Volinski  fearful  punish 
ment  if  he  should  renew  the  combat.  Foaming  at 
the  mouth,  the  blood  congealing  scarlet  about  the  two 
protruding  points  of  his  cheekbones ;  his  green  eyes 
turning  blue,  bulging  from  their  sockets — a  brute  in 
sane  with  brutal  pain,  so  insane  that  the  very  pain  was 
a  delirious  sensation  that  merely  intensified  the  insan 
ity  of  vengeance  and  sank  to  insignificance  within  it, 
Vorlinski  arose. 

The  Pole's  left  hand  skimmed  skilfully  over  Blair's 
protecting  right  and  landed  with  the  thud  of  a  cata 
pult  on  his  jaw.  He  reeled,  staggering;  his  sight  grew 
dim,  but  he  caught  himself  and  maintained  his  bal 
ance,  breathing  deeply.  The  blow  cost  the  giver  more 
than  the  receiver;  the  huge  Pole  howled  aloud 
in  agony;  his  broken  wrist  hung  lifeless  at  his  side. 
A  shower  of  blows  from  Blair,  on  the  eyes,  the  cheeks, 
the  jaw  and  the  nose  and  the  ribs,  sent  him  flat  to  the 
floor  again. 

Blair  stood  over  his  prostrate  adversary;  his  rage 
was  towering;  his  temper  was  demoniac,  more  terri 
ble  now  that  the  battle  was  over  than  when  it  had 
begun.  He  winced  under  his  own  fury.  The  blue 
vein  that  ran  through  the  center  of  his  high  forehead 
empurpled.  He  turned  away.  Atavism,  the  incul 
cated  lesson  of  fair  play,  heredity  of  a  superior  race, 


86  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

something,  anything,  bound  his  legs  and  tied  his  arms, 
prevented  him  from  beating  and  stamping  this  monster 
to  death  as  the  monster  would  have  done  to  him.  Vor- 
linski  crawled  out  of  the  room.  The  girl  followed  her 
lover. 

Blair  sought  the  open  air.  He  tore  along  the  un 
even  sidewalks  with  his  great  strides,  regardless  of  any 
direction.  He  was  disheartened,  cast-down,  ashamed ; 
his  eyes  were  dry,  but  the  heroic  spirit  of  the  man 
wept  tears  of  blood.  He  had  come  thither  to  preach 
the  new  gospel,  and  twice  during  those  first  two 
weeks  he  had  fought  like  a  mad  dog ;  he  had 
dragged  himself  down  to  the  level  of  a  beast.  He  had 
heard  the  cry  of  murder  swell  in  his  heart  and  ring  in 
his  ears.  He  had  sullied  the  sublimity  of  his  mission. 
He  had  given  way  to  his  lowest  passions, — passions 
that  he  had  never  dreamed  were  lurking  in  the  dark  re 
cesses  of  his  soul.  If  Evangeline  had  been  there!  If 
she  had  seen  that  fight  and  the  orgy  that  ushered  it  in ! 
At  the  first  weak  temptation  she  had  been  clean  forgot. 
He  would  have  liked  to  hide  the  memory  of  that  night 
in  his  hands. 

His  thoughts  were  queasy  with  disgust.  The  sacri 
fices  of  the  weak  do  not  smoke  on  the  altar  of  a  noble 
cause;  only  the  sacrifices  of  the  strong  are  acceptable 
to  its  gods.  He  would  better  go  whence  he  had  come ; 
what  business  had  he,  who  needed  the  shelter  of  home, 
to  seek  to  shelter  the  world?  The  rattle  and  roar  of 
the  clamoring  mills  reached  him.  The  reflection  of  a 
vivid  flame  from  the  blast-furnaces  swept  over  the 
face  of  a  deep  pool  of  water.  He  looked  and  rushed 
on ;  the  suggestion  that  had  frightened  him  a  few 
nights  ago  thrilled  him  now. 

In  the  Dumb-Bell  the  dance  was  going  merrily  on; 


THE  SHINDIG  87 

a  few  minutes  after  Blair  left  the  saloon  the  musicians 
had  reseated  themselves;  the  crowd  had  but  paused  for 
refreshment,  and  when  the  low,  sensuous,  insinuating 
music  began,  they  whirled  away  again  to  its  ravishing 
tones.  Fetid,  stifling  grew  the  atmosphere ;  collars 
and  shirts  and  ties  wilted  and  shrunk.  Hats  were 
tipped  back  farther  and  farther ;  coats  were  discarded ; 
the  sweat  dripped  unheeded  down  their  faces.  The 
lamp  light  struggled  faintly  through  the  curtain  of 
tobacco  smoke. 

•  The  musicians  sawed  on  their  tired  instruments  as 
their  heads  bent  sleepily  over  the  rests  of  their  violins, 
as  the  positions  assumed  in  the  mazurka  became  freer 
and  more  intimate. 

Four  o'clock  sounded.     It  was  time  for  early  mass ; 
and  the  languid  couples  paired  reluctantly  to  church. 


IX 
IN    THE    DARKNESS 

BLAIR  CARRHART  put  on  his  ulster  and 
strolled  up  the  street  to  take  the  fresh  air  a 
moment  or  two  before  retiring.  It  was  bit- 
ingly  cold;  the  atmosphere  was  white,  stiff,  as  if 
coated  with  ice,  but  it  was  invigorating  and  in 
spiring.  Inside  one  could  not  breathe;  the  doors  and 
windows  were  shut  tight  to  keep  the  fresh,  bracing 
air  out  and  the  warm  foul  air  in.  The  toilers  in  steel, 
for  the  greater  part,  are  unable  to  endure  the  cold ; 
used  to  the  superheated  mills  and  furnaces,  they  crave 
the  heat  in  their  homes. 

It  was  an  ill  wind  that  sent  the  price  of  coal  and  pro 
visions  up,  but  it  blew  good  in  its  train, — the  mala 
rial,  miasmatic  pools  were  dried  up,  the  foul  humidity 
and  dampness  of  Marvin  were  locked  in  prisons  of  ice, 
awaiting  the  spring  for  escape,  and  the  rheumatic, 
aching  bones  of  the  countless  laborers  found  relief 
from  pain  at  last. 

Blair  increased  his  gait,  striding  on  with  his  great 
long  strides,  drawing  deep  breaths  with  his  strong 
lungs.  The  swiftness  of  his  thoughts  kept  pace  with 
his  steps.  He  was  dissatisfied,  depressed,  not  at  one 
with  himself.  Ever  since  he  had  seen  Evangeline,  he 
had  been  distraught  and  ill-at-ease;  uncomfortable  in 
his  harsh  surroundings.  He  was  a  prey  to  homesick- 

88 


IN  THE  DARKNESS  89 

ness.  She  recalled,  so  he  told  himself,  the  higher  life, 
his  own  people,  the  culture,  the  refinement,  the  books, 
amid  which  he  had  been  born  and  bred ; — the  absence 
of  the  higher  life  that  sicklied  his  present  days  over 
with  melancholy.  There  were  moments  when  he  tired 
of  acting  the  farcical  lie  with  himself,  when  he  acknowl 
edged  the  truth  that  it  was  she  who  made  him  yearn 
for  home,  that  she  represented  home  to  him,  that  there 
were  two  worlds ; — one  world  in  which  Evangeline 
played  her  part,  another  world  in  which  she  had  no 
part  to  play;  and  there  could  be  no  continued  happi 
ness  for  him  if  his  world  was  where  she  was  not. 

What  booted  his  sacrifice?  Wherefore  remain? 
Why  not  return?  He  had  been  in  the  mills  over  a 
month — it  seemed  years — and  he  had  accomplished 
nothing.  He  was  bound  with  chains  of  inactivity, 
and  he  chafed  and  writhed,  vexing  his  spirit,  unable 
to  free  himself  from  the  galling  gyves.  Not  one  word 
of  his  gospel  had  he  spread ;  he  had  not  even  prepared 
the  way  for  the  preaching.  He  was  a  poor  disciple 
in  the  faith  of  his  own  rearing. 

A  voice  within  him  argued  to  the  contrary.  He 
had  done  much.  He  had  climbed  from  place  to  place, 
from  station  to  station,  with  a  rapidity  that  surprised 
himself  no  less  than  those  who  witnessed  it.  He  had 
established  warm  friendships  among  the  men  as  he 
moved  along,  learning  their  lives  and  their  work.  He 
had  joined  the  union  of  the  Amalgamated  Workers  in 
Tin,  Iron  and  Steel;  and  in  his  lodge  of  the  union — 
had  not  Winslow  told  him  so  often? — he  had  won  the 
admiration  due  a  man  who  thinks  before  he  speaks  and 
then  speaks  thoughts  worth  the  hearing.  It  was 
through  the  influence  of  Winslow,  who  had  become  his 
closest  friend  in  the  mill,  that  Bach,  the  German  super- 


9o  BY  BREAD   ALONE 

intendent  of  the  open-hearth,  gave  him  a  chance  in  his 
department ;  and  how  quickly  had  his  trained  intelli 
gence  advanced  him  there  to  the  melter's  first  helper! 
Blair  throttled  this  voice  that  spoke  in  his  favor,  he 
would  have  none  of  it. 

What  had  he  done  to  ameliorate  the  suffering,  to 
alleviate  the  poverty  that  was  grinding  the  faces  of 
this  people,  stunting  the  growth  of  their  children, 
twisting  their  lack-lime  limbs  awry  ?  Had  he  brought 
one  ray  of  hope  or  happiness  into  these  sorry  homes, 
not  fit  for  the  shambles  of  sheep,  by  showing  how  his 
scheme  of  the  altruistic  Cooperative  Commonwealth 
must  supplant  the  heartless,  egoistic  tyranny  of  capital 
ism?  Why  had  he  not  made  those  downcast  hearts 
look  up  with  the  cheering  faith  that  the  overwork  and 
the  underpay  were  to  cease ;  that  the  careless  slaughter 
of  human  life  waged  daily  by  the  machinery  was  to 
come  to  an  end,  and  that  the  Cooperative  Common 
wealth  would  fulfil  the  promise,  centuries  old,  of 
peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men  ?  What  had  he  done 
to  make  the  lives  of  this  people  a  grade  higher  than 
that  of  sleek  cattle  fed  in  comfortable  stalls?  When 
every  flimsy  cottage,  shaking  like  a  reed  in  the  De 
cember  blast,  was  moaning  with  a  heart-breaking 
pathos,  why  was  he  silent? 

Again  the  voice  spoke  in  his  favor.  He  had  done 
all  in  his  power.  Such  things  demanded  time,  they 
were  not  the  work  of  a  night.  Already  he  had  pre 
pared  the  way  by  outlining  his  favorite  theme  to  the 
Brodskis  despite  Jan's  growling  objection  and  the 
mother's  protest,  who  could  not  forget  that  revolution 
ary  ideas  had  cost  her  dead  husband  trouble  enough 
during  his  life.  Michael,  who  was  already  the  mem 
ber  of  a  socialistic  society,  had  promised  after  long 


IN  THE  DARKNESS  91 

urging  to  conduct  him  thither.  Blair  throttled  the 
voice  once  more. 

He  was  oblivious  of  the  cold;  his  blood  boiled  hot; 
his  heart  hammered  fast,  and  he  strode  on  and  on. 
The  roaring,  screeching  and  rumbling  of  the  mills 
reverberated  through  the  night;  the  flames  from  the 
converters  were  reflected  like  an  aurora  in  the  clear 
freezing  sky.  Men,  bundled  and  muffled,  flinging 
their  arms  across  their  chests,  moved  to  and  from  their 
work. 

Somebody  saluted;  Blair  halted.  Paul  Brodski 
hurried  along,  arm  in  arm  with  a  woman.  Blair  rec 
ognized  her  despite  the  thick  veil.  She  was  Sophia 
Goldstein,  the  Russian  woman,  who  lived  in  the  shack 
that  stood  at  one  side  of  their  yard,  not  a  stone's  throw 
from  the  Brodskis'  tenement.  Blair  had  seen  them 
together  often  of  late,  and  he  disliked  the  friendship ; 
he  felt  sure  that  no  good  could  come  from  it  in  so  far 
as  Paul  was  concerned.  There  was  a  suggestion  of 
cruelty,  of  hardness,  of  fanaticism  about  her  long 
swarthy  face,  with  the  protruding  underlip,  with  the 
black  eyes  that  burned  like  strong  lights  through 
opaque  globes.  What  was  her  object?  What  did  the 
friendship  portend?  Paul  was  under  the  woman's 
influence.  His  boyishness,  his  roguishness,  were  fast 
disappearing ;  he  was  becoming  old,  serious.  He  no 
longer  showed  any  desire  to  continue  his  studies  with 
Blair;  when  he  was  home  (those  occasions  were  grow 
ing  rarer  and  rarer)  he  pored  over  Polish  pamphlets 
in  an  absorbed  but  mysterious,  almost  sly  manner,  like 
one  who  does  not  wish  to  be  seen.  Michael  joined  his 
voice  in  protest  with  Blair ;  but  Jan  supported  Paul's 
conduct  and  there  was  an  end  to  all  argument. 

Blair  hurried  on,  Paul  and  the  Russian  woman  were 


92  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

soon  forgotten,  his  thoughts  reverting  to  his  own  short 
comings  and  his  neglected  mission.  The  gasoline  jets 
of  the  Dumb-Bell  sent  a  glowing  patch  of  light 
through  the  thickly-frosted  windows.  A  loud  noise 
as  of  many  people  talking  could  be  heard.  Blair 
stepped  inside.  A  crowd  of  men  was  huddled  around 
the  red-hot  sides  of  the  coal  stove,  kicking  their  heavy 
boots  against  the  glowing  sheeting,  thawing  out  their 
frozen  gloves.  They  were  the  yard  men — the 
"  mules  "  of  the  mill — who,  benumbed  by  the  icy  winds 
from  the  lake,  had  evaded  the  watchful  foremen's  eyes 
to  steal  a  minute  or  two  of  reviving  heat. 

Blair  was  greeted  pleasantly  on  all  sides;  many 
hands  were  extended  to  him.  He  was  no  longer 
glanced  at  with  suspicion  ;  the  foreigners — more  specifi 
cally  the  Poles — regarded  him  as  their  friend.  He 
had  settled  many  of  their  trivial  "  clothes-line  "  quar 
rels  out  of  the  police-courts,  to  which  they  were  so 
prone  to  rush  ;  he  had  been  their  assistant  in  a  score 
of  matters  that  required  a  knowledge  of  English ;  he 
had  ever  been  ready  to  counsel  and  aid,  and  his  coun 
sel  and  aid  were  ever  in  requisition ;  he  had  even 
learned  to  understand  their  language ;  in  short,  he  was 
already  looked  upon  as  one  of  their  friends. 

Finding  a  willing  listener,  they  complained  bitterly, 
— the  old  complaint  uttered  since  the  beginning  of  time 
by  those  who  have  not  against  those  who  have.  Coal 
and  provisions  were  outrageously  high.  The  rent 
charged  by  the  Company  was  exorbitant  and  it  robbed 
them  unmercifully  for  indispensable  repairs.  Things 
had  been  villainously  misrepresented ;  they  had  been 
imported  by  the  European  agents  of  the  Company  on 
the  promise  of  reasonable  work  and  high  wages ;  and 
now  their  pay  was  insufficient  to  eke  out  even  their 


IN  THE  DARKNESS  93 

meager  existence.  Their  families  were  freezing  and 
hungering.  How  could  they  live?  How  were  they 
to  see  the  dread  winter  through?  The  work  was 
deadening,  exhausting;  it  was  torture  to  face  those 
arctic  winds  for  twelve  interminable  hours  at  a 
stretch.  No  horse  could  endure  it.  The  injustice 
was  barbarous.  But  they  didn't  wish  to  find  fault 
with  the  work ;  they  were  willing  to  moil  until  their 
finger-nails  were  worn  even  with  their  flesh  and  the 
flesh  bled ;  if  only  by  the  harrowing  toil  of  their  bleed 
ing  hands  they  were  able  to  fill  their  children's  mouths 
and  their  own.  The  weaker  ones  gave  way  to  the 
surge  of  compelling  emotion,  and  the  tears  rolled  down 
their  blowzy  cheeks,  chapped  and  cracked  by  the  cold. 
It  was  so  good  to  unburden  oneself  to  a  sympathetic 
listener ! 

Imprecations  against  the  Company  arose  in  a  foam 
ing  whirlpool  to  Blair's  lips ;  but  the  whirlpool  fell 
back,  mingling  with  the  mass  of  incoherent  unformed 
phrases  from  which  it  had  detached  itself,  ebbing 
away  there.  Blair  had  no  desire  to  pour  the  oil  of 
hatred  on  the  fire  of  their  discontent;  such  was  not 
his  purpose ;  nor  did  the  moment  seem  ripe  for  the 
promulgation  of  his  favorite  doctrine.  He  strove  for 
some  words  of  consolation  ;  some  jingling,  albeit  empty 
condolence  that  might  serve,  like  the  stove  before 
which  they  stood,  to  warm  their  faint  hearts  for  a  con 
tinuation  of  the  struggle ;  but  no  condoling  words 
would  come ;  and  he  stood  confused,  overcome,  his 
breast  heaving  as  he  murmered :  "  Wait,  it  will  all 
come  right ;  it  will  all  come  right." 

They  clamored  for  the  honor  of  treating  Blair  at 
the  bar  (the  honor  was  worth  any  sacrifice  whatso 
ever),  but  he  refused  all  invitations.  The  men  but- 


94  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

toned  their  coats,  drew  on  their  gloves  and  walked  out 
into  the  night ;  Blair  departed  with  them. 

It  was  nearly  nine  when  he  reached  home.  Two 
men  pushed  ahead  of  him  in  the  passageway  that  ran 
between  the  tenements,  and  made  straight  for  the 
shack  of  Sophia  Goldstein,  the  Russian  woman.  Blair 
looked;  lights  in  her  room  wavered  through  the  frost 
ed  window.  The  door  of  the  shack  opened  long 
enough  for  him  to  descry  that  the  room  was  filled  with 
visitors.  A  while  afterwards  a  group  of  four  fol 
lowed  the  first  two.  Blair  crouched  down  behind  the 
stairway  of  the  tenement  that  fronted  the  rear  of  the 
Brodskis  and  watched ;  he  was  near  enough  to  have 
peered  through  the  window  had  not  the  coating  of 
frost  interfered.  The  party  was  not  one  of  roysterers, 
of  merrymakers ;  there  was  not  a  sound,  no  murmur  of 
joyful  voices.  Another  man  knocked  at  the  door  of 
the  shack ;  two  knocks  in  quick  succession ;  then  three 
at  long,  spaced  intervals.  It  was  the  same  signal  that 
Blair  had  heard  before.  Jan  and  Paul  came  out  from 
the  tenement,  glancing  from  side  to  side,  cautiously. 
They  knocked ;  the  shack  swallowed  them. 

Michael  was  just  preparing  to  retire  when  Blair 
tapped  at  his  door.  "Come  out,  Michael!  I  wish 'to 
show  you  something!  Strange  things  are  going  on 
outside !  " 

Michael  ventured  out  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  shivering 
with  the  cold,  his  body  drawn  together  tensely,  as  if  he 
would  retain  its  heat. 

'  There !  "  cried  Blair,  pointing  from  under  the 
staircase. 

"  In  the  shack  of  the  Russian  woman?"  Michael's 
small  nose  dilated  as  if  it  wished  to  raise  itself  out  of 
his  heavy  mustache. 


IN  THE  DARKNESS  95 

"  Yes.     What  are  all  those  people  doing  in  there  ?  " 

"  I  no  like  it,  Mr.  Blair,"  he  answered,  evasively,  his 
teeth  chattering  as  from  a  chill. 

Steps  resounded  through  the  crisp  air ;  a  rather  tall 
man,  with  a  dark  Van  Dyke  beard  and  a  protruding 
paunch,  moved  up  the  three  stairs  of  the  shack,  knock 
ing  twice,  then  thrice.  The  light  fell  over  him ;  it 
could  be  discerned  that  he  was  not  of  the  same  class 
as  his  predecessors ;  a  glance  at  his  dress  and  looks 
proclaimed  that. 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Blair. 

Michael  shook  his  head,  his  teeth  chattering  again. 

"  Michael,  what  are  they  doing  in  there  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head  again,  in  a  non-committal  way,  as 
one  who  knows  the  truth  and  will  not  divulge  it. 

Blair  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  throwing 
his  head  well  back.  "  I'm  going  in  there." 

"  For  Christ's  sake,  no,  man,  no !  "  exclaimed  Mi 
chael,  catching  him  by  the  wrists. 

Blair  freed  his  wrists  as  if  a  child  had  held  them. 

"  Don't  go,  Mr.  Blair,  please,"  he  pleaded. 

"Why  not?" 

"  You  get  me  in  trouble.  You  find  out  someaday,'' 
he  evaded. 

Blair  reflected ;  then  he  returned  into  the  tenement 
with  Michael.  He  lay  awake  for  a  long  while,  pon 
dering  deeply;  then  he  fell  into  the  death-like  sleep 
of  the  laborer. 


X 
THE  DESTROYERS 

LA  VETTE,  the  chief  of  the  chemical  depart 
ment  of  the  North- Western  Rolling-Mills,  was 
the  last  visitor  whom  Blair  and  Michael  had 
seen  enter  the  shack.  A  dozen  men,  seated  on 
the  bed,  the  trunks,  chairs,  boxes  and  an  upturned 
wash-tub,  occupied  the  cluttered  room — it  could  be 
used  for  any  purpose  and  was  used  for  all.  The 
men  were  all  toilers  from  the  mills,  Poles,  Hungarians 
and  Croatians.  La  Vette's  well-dressed,  pudgy  form 
was  strikingly  out  of  place  in  the  shack,  his  freshly 
brilliantined  dark  Van  Dyke  beard  and  his  polished 
finger-nails  seemed  to  resent  his  bringing  them  there. 

Exchanging  a  few  words  in  Italian  with  Sophia 
Goldstein — a  Russian  polyglot  to  whom  no  language 
was  foreign — La  Vette  removed  his  overcoat  and  hat, 
and  sat  down  on  the  bed  beside  her.  The  woman  was 
smoking  a  cigarette ;  La  Yette  opened  his  silver  case 
and  calmly  kept  her  company.  He  seemed  more  in 
harmony  with  those  straightened  surroundings  than 
his  appearance  suggested. 

"  Anything  new  ?  "  she  asked,  puffing  out  a  bluish 
ring. 

The  others  watched  them  furtively,  their  stolid  faces 
lighting  up  eagerly,  straining  to  understand  what  they 

96 


THE  DESTROYERS  97 

heard.  Every  word  produced  its  definite  result  there, 
seeming  to  fall  through  the  surcharged  atmosphere  on 
the  floor  like  pieces  of  metal,  ringing  ominously.  The 
yellow  patches  of  light  that  poured  out  from  the  lamp 
on  the  washstand  flickered  as  with  suppressed  excite 
ment. 

La  Vette  removed  his  pince-nez  and  rubbed  the  deep 
red  mark  on  the  bridge  of  his  nose.  :<  Yes,"  he  drawled 
out,  "  we  can  look  for  trouble  around  spring.  Old 
Judson  the  inventor  has  been  busy.  He  has  three 
automatic  inventions  ready  that  will  throw  at  least 
a  thousand  men  out  of  work.  He's  a  remarkable  old 
man.  If  you  give  him  time  enough  he'll  get  up  a 
scheme  for  running  the  whole  mill  with  one  man  and 
a  lever." 

La  Vette  yawned  and  replaced  the  pince-nez,  fold 
ing  his  white  hands  on  the  black  vest  that  fitted  his 
protruding  stomach  snugly.  His  broad  bald  head 
fairly  shone,  the  lamp  rays  breaking  on  the  half -hu 
morous  little  knob  in  its  center. 

Sophia  Goldstein  translated  what  the  chemist  had 
said,  her  long  lithe  body  moving  serpentinely  through 
her  loose  wrapper;  La  Vette's  owl-like  eyes  followed 
the  movement  of  her  gesticulating  hands.  They  were 
wonderful  hands,  strong,  yet  dainty;  and  they  seemed 
clutched  around  some  intangible  object,  choking  it, 
suffocating  it  with  their  prehensile  fingers.  La  Vette 
edged  away  as  she  continued  to  speak,  evidently  inter 
polating  remarks  of  her  own  in  the  translation ;  the 
woman  was  repugnant  to  him ;  she  made  his  sensitive 
sense  of  touch  creep :  he  had  known  her  for  years — 
their  acquaintanceship  had  begun  in  Europe — and  he 
could  never  overcome  his  dislike  for  the  cruel  sensual 
face,  with  the  bad  underlip  and  the  savage  black  eyes. 
7 


98  BY  BREAD   ALONE 

Like  La  Vette  Sophia  had  had  a  past,  and,  like 
most  women  who  have  had  a  past,  her  future  would 
have  been  better  without  it.  She  came  by  her  anar 
chistic  tendencies  naturally ;  her  father  was  a  pupil  of 
Bakunin,  a  follower  and  an  ardent  disciple,  and  her 
mother  was  the  ardent  disciple  and  pupil  of  her 
father ;  the  daughter  was  not  an  indifferent  pupil  to 
either.  Sophia's  mother  and  father  were  sent  to  Si 
beria  for  life;  it  appeared  that  Russia,  despite  its  im 
mensity,  was  not  large  enough  to  contain  those  two 
and  the  Czar  at  the  same  time:  the  Czar  preferred 
Russia. 

Sophia  entered  into  a  liaison  with  a  St.  Petersburg 
student, — a  dare-devil  who  valued  his  life  at  a  pin  and 
the  lives  of  others  at  half  that  amount.  There  was 
another  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Czar,  and  the  dis 
tance  between  Russia  and  Siberia  separated  the  Czar 
from  the  student.  Sophia  escaped  into  France.  At 
Paris,  in  the  purlieus  of  the  anarchists,  she  met  La 
Vette.  From  Paris  she  drifted  into  New  York;  and, 
being  a  bird  of  that  black  feather,  she  joined  Herr 
Most's  flock. 

She  harangued  audiences ;  excited  mobs,  made  con 
verts  for  the  cause — did  all  the  good  in  her  power  for 
the  sake  of  evil.  About  the  time  of  the  Haymarket 
riot — she  had  the  scent  of  the  vulture  for  carrion — she 
found  her  way  to  Chicago,  and  joined  a  group  of  the 
infamous  International.  She  was  arrested  with  the 
others ;  but  the  evidence  against  her  was  valueless  and 
she  was  released.  Experience  had  taught  her  how  to 
cover  as  well  as  to  make  tracks  in  the  slime.  She 
fastened  her  tentacles  on  Marvin  next;  there  was  nour 
ishment  in  that  bleak  rock  for  one  of  her  ilk  and  cult. 

La  Vette  drew  out  his  open-faced  watch,  glanced  at 


THE  DESTROYERS  99 

the  dial  and  yawned  again.  There  was  that  in  his 
bearing  which  angered  the  others,  grated  on  them; 
he  wore  such  an  outer  assumption  of  inner  self-impor 
tance  and  superiority.  He  represented  the  very  thing 
they  hated;  he  embodied  the  very  things  they  wished 
to  destroy.  They  felt  uncomfortable  in  his  presence; 
they  blamed  the  woman  for  bringing  him  there;  when 
he  spoke  they  averted  their  eyes  to  the  ground.  La 
Vette  was  well  aware  of  this  feeling;  but  his  serenity 
was  not  disturbed  by  his  knowledge ;  to  him  these  men 
were  but  part  of  the  rotten  society,  fit  for  destruction, 
to  disappear,  he  hoped,  with  the  rest. 

After  all  La  Vette's  mind,  like  his  blood,  was  a  com 
plex  affair ;  he  was  Italian  and  Swiss  on  his  father's 
side;  French  and  Italian  on  his  mother's.  His  father 
was  a  violent  character,  a  born  revolutionist,  who  bore 
no  small  part  in  the  Italian  insurrections ;  his  mother 
was  gentle  and  shrinking.  La  Vette  was  compounded 
of  three  grains  of  his  father  to  two  grains  of  his 
mother.  He  studied  chemistry  in  Italy  and  France ; 
then  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg  to  teach  what  he  had 
learned. 

La  Vette  imbibed  the  nihilistic  doctrines  as  easily 
as  if  he  had  been  a  Russian ;  he  became  interested  in 
an  anarchistic  corps ;  so  much  interested  that  the  po 
lice  gave  him  twelve  hours  to  leave  the  country.  He 
went  back  to  France,  thence  to  England,  thence  to 
America.  The  world  had  blown  him  around,  and  it 
was  his  ambition  to  extend  the  same  treatment  to  the 
world.  He  taught  French,  Italian  and  chemistry  in 
the  smaller  American  universities,  and  he  finally  drift 
ed  into  the  employment  of  the  mills. 

His  high  position  had  been  won  by  two  brilliant  dis 
coveries;  one  of  which  converted  slag  into  glass,  the 


ioo  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

other  converting  the  same  substance  into  cement.  Both 
were  valuable ;  they  turned  what  had  been  hitherto  re 
garded  as  dirt  into  gold.  He  was  brilliant,  intellec 
tual,  witty ;  and  his  company  was  sought  by  the  heads 
of  the  departments,  even  up  to  the  president.  La 
Vette  understood  the  craft  of  getting  along  with  the 
world  to  get  along  in  it.  He  detested  anything  that 
disturbed  the  established  order  of  his  easy  life;  and  he 
was  generally  grumbling  and  out  of  sorts  because  his 
convictions  and  his  theories  were  constantly  calling 
upon  him  to  sacrifice  his  comfort  to  what  he  believed 
his  duties. 

"  I  forgot  to  say,"  spoke  the  chemist,  balancing  his 
pince-nez  and  rubbing  the  red  spot  on  the  bridge  of 
his  nose,  "  that  the  tonnage  men — the  fellows  who  are 
paid  on  the  output  of  tons — have  handed  in  their  scale 
of  wages  for  the  next  year.  They  ask  for  a  raise,  and 
the  Company  will  insist  on  a  decline.  The  Company 
expects  trouble  all  along  the  line  and  it  is  prepared  to 
meet  it.  The  day  laborers  may  look  for  a  cut  around 
the  first  of  January ;  for  I  heard  to-day  that  the  Com 
pany  is  in  communication  with  its  foreign  agents  for 
the  importation  of  vast  numbers." 

Sophia  translated  the  information.  La  Vette  watched 
the  vivacious  gesticulation  of  her  hands.  His  eyes, 
wandering,  caught  sight  of  Paul  Brodski's  rapt  ex 
pression,  and  La  Vette  fastened  his  gaze  on  him.  Paul 
sat  with  his  chin  resting  on  his  hand ;  his  blue  eyes 
fixed  on  the  flashing  black  eyes  of  the  woman.  There 
was  no  mistaking  that  look.  "  So,"  thought  La  Vette, 
"  she  has  caught  that  poor  bird  in  her  net."  He  pitied 
Paul  after  his  cold,  purely  intellectual  fashion.  La 
Vette  knew  that  other  birds  had  been  lured  into  this 
net,  never  to  free  themselves  from  its  meshes. 


THE  DESTROYERS  101 

Jan  arose,  tugging  at  his  red  beard,  his  blue  eyes 
rolling  in  frenzy,  transported  to  an  excitement  that 
one  would  not  have  believed  his  usual  placidity  capa 
ble  of  reaching.  His  exhortation  was  blood-curdling, 
insatiable  in  its  demand  for  revenge.  The  air  was 
scarlet,  changed  in  hue  as  if  an  immense  ingot  had 
been  lifted  from  the  gas  pits  of  the  mills  and  placed 
in  the  center  of  that  room.  The  faces  of  his  listeners 
became  heated,  lurid,  well-nigh  canine.  Some  clawed 
at  their  finger-nails  nervously;  others  doubled  their 
big  fists,  pressing  the  sharp  knuckles  of  the  left  hand 
against  the  right.  They  were  bloodhounds  that  had 
sniffed  the  trail. 

They  discussed  the  manufacture  of  dangerous  ex 
plosives,  chemicals,  poisons; — the  ways  and  means  of 
putting  into  the  next  world  the  society  they  hated  in 
this.  La  Vette  was  called  upon  for  advice ;  he  gave 
it  freely,  though  yawning,  tired  of  repeating  what  was 
to  him  an  old  story,  frequently  told,  rarely  effecting 
the  end  that  was  its  purpose.  They  could  make  dy 
namite  if  they  desired;  but  it  was  cheaper  and  less 
dangerous,  he  cautioned,  to  purchase  it.  Moreover 
there  was  plenty  of  it  stored  in  the  mills,  used  for 
cracking  slag ;  and  they  could  lay  hands  on  that  when 
the  time  came. 

The  chemist  arose  and  put  on  his  hat  and  coat,  ex 
plaining  to  the  woman  that  he  was  invited  to  a  cotil 
lon  to  be  given  that  night  at  Marvin's.  He  must 
change  his  clothes  and  hasten  thither.  He  said  "  good 
night  "  as  if  he  were  speaking  to  the  room  and  not  its 
occupants. 

As  La  Vette  hastened  to  catch  the  train  for  the  city 
the  thought  of  Paul  Brodski,  innocent,  youthful,  with 
his  large  blue  eyes,  was  still  with  him;  and  the  cold 


102  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

intellectual  pity — like  the  pity  for  the  central  figure  in 
a  sad  picture — disturbed  his  comfort.  After  all  uni 
versal  destruction  was  a  vague  thing,  far  off,  unlikely 
to  happen ;  but  this  youth  was  concrete,  near  at  hand, 
standing  over  a  yawning  pit.  La  Vette's  mind  pre 
ferred  to  deal  in  abstractions. 


XI 

THE  COTILLON 

CALCIUM  lights  threw  Marvin's  colonial  house 
and  the  iron  fence  in  broad  relief  against  the 
darkness  of  the  avenue.  The  red  brick  front, 
the  white  window  frames  and  the  green  shutters 
shone  more  red  and  white  and  green  than  in  the 
less  garish  light  of  day.  Lines  of  carriages  were 
drawn  close  to  the  curb  on  both  sides  of  the  street.  It 
was  almost  twelve  when  La  Vette's  plebeian  cab  pushed 
through  the  host  of  aristocratic  carriages  and  drove  up 
to  the  awning  that  extended  from  the  porch  to  the 
street.  A  flunky  assisted  the  chemist  to  alight. 

The  house  was  ablaze,  warmed  with  the  glow  of 
electric  lights ;  flooded  with  the  odor  that  poured  from 
gorgeous  clusters  of  American  Beauties.  Paintings, 
etchings,  Russian  bronzes,  Persian  rugs,  Carrara 
marbles, — objects  of  virtu  gathered  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth  to  enrich  the  corners  of  Marvin's  house, — 
struck  La  Vette  with  the  vivid  contrast  they  presented  to 
the  wretched  poverty  of  the  shack  he  had  left  an  hour 
ago.  He  was  at  home  anywhere,  amid  affluence  or 
poverty;  but  he  preferred  the  affluence;  just  as  he 
could  express  himself  equally  well  in  French  or  Ital 
ian,  but  he  preferred  the  Italian — it  was  the  more  nat 
ural.  As  he  passed  up  the  curving  oak  stairway  to 
the  second  floor,  he  shook  his  head  vigorously:  that 
was  the  last  thought  he  gave  to  the  shack  and  its  occu- 

103 


io4  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

pants  for  the  night.  All  that  was  sybaritic,  Latin,  lux 
urious  in  the  man — and  it  was  a  great  deal — expand 
ed  and  brightened  to  greet  the  bright  and  expansive 
air  of  surrounding  opulency. 

The  cotillon  was  already  in  progress;  strains  from 
the  dance  music  floated  down  the  stairs ;  La  Vette 
tapped  his  foot  in  time  with  the  waltz  notes  and  made 
for  the  Louis  XI V.  ball-room.  The  first  glance  star 
tled  him.  His  owl-like  eyes,  opening  wide,  were  un 
able  to  credit  the  reality  of  a  scene  so  magnificent.  He 
was  overwhelmed ;  he  stood  awkwardly,  cutting  a 
poor  figure,  which  luckily  was  unnoticed.  The  floor 
was  a  sea  of  rustling  silks,  from  the  depths  of  which 
the  fair  faces  of  the  women,  blond  and  brunette, 
peeped  luringly  forth. 

He  was  conscious  enough  of  the  music  but  he  could 
not  see  whence  it  came.  The  orchestra  was  seated  in 
the  balcony,  screened  from  view  by  plumy  curtains  of 
asparagus,  clustered  with  orchids,  the  dainty  green 
surface  shimmering  with  innumerable  tiny  electric 
lights  that  died  out  and  came  to  life  again  as  if  the 
foliage  were  the  retreat  for  innumerable  fireflies. 

The  women  were  dancing  around  the  room  grace 
fully,  vari-colored  balloons  floating  over  their  heads. 
The  men  were  in  swift  but  dignified  pursuit.  Evan- 
geline,  circling  around  swiftly,  faced  La  Vette. 
Grasping  the  situation  with  his  quick  wit,  he  caught 
the  balloon. 

"  I  claim  you  for  partner,  I  presume,"  he  said,  with 
his  pronounced  foreign  accent. 

She  assented,  laughingly.  Walter  Putnam,  who 
barely  missed  the  balloon,  started  for  another. 

"  I  fear  you  won  too  easily,  Monsieur  La  Vette," 
she  laughed. 


THE  COTILLON  105 

"  Considering  the  extent  of  my  good  fortune,  yes," 
he  replied. 

"  You  turn  a  compliment  with  too  great  facility.  It 
argues  practice/' 

"  The  ease  with  which  it  came  should  bespeak  its 
sincerity." 

She  'made  no  reply.  He  was  content  to  remain 
quiet  and  let  his  sense  for  the  beautiful  satisfy  itself 
in  silence.  "  Impressionistic  and  bold,"  he  thought, 
regarding  her  auburn  hair,  her  pink  cheeks — the  pink 
of  the  inner  side  of  a  rose  leaf — her  white  teeth  and 
the  black  gown,  ornamented  with  jet,  that  clung  loose 
ly  to  her  bare  finely-chiseled  shoulders. 

They  circled  around  to  the  music  of  the  waltz;  and 
La  Vette  found  himself  more  and  more  dazzled  by  the 
beauty  which  unfolded  at  every  step  of  the  circle. 
Twelve  various  musical  instruments  made  of  pink  and 
white  roses  hung  from  the  wall,  suspended  by  strings 
of  violets ;  garlands  of  roses,  mignonette  and  vio 
lets,  gracefully  looped,  ran  from  one  instrument 
to  the  other ;  Cupids,  half  hidden  in  roseate  bowers, 
held  the  ends  of  the  garlands  in  their  chubby 
hands. 

The  music  ceased,  Evangeline  and  La  Vette  strolled 
around,  arm  in  arm.  "  I  have  never  seen  anything 
quite  so  beautiful  in  all  my  life,"  said  he,  looking  at  the 
pure  colors  of  the  rich  gowns,  combining  prettily, 
almost  fragrantly,  one  might  have  said,  as  if  they 
had  been  the  flowers  of  a  bouquet  arranged  by  a  master 
hand. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  absently,  looking  through  the 
host  of  men.  Her  face  became  grave;  the  lonesome 
sense — the  feeling  of  some  one,  something  gone — be 
came  poignant.  She  compared  them  all  to  Blair  and 


106  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

none  of  them  was  equal  to  the  comparison.  If  he  were 
only  there ! 

"  And  the  prettiest  thing  in  the  room,"  La  Vette 
went  on  to  say,  beaming  upon  her,  "  is— 

"  Come,"  she  interrupted,  "  I  fear  that  we  are  verg 
ing  dangerously  near  small  talk,  and  neither  of  us 
cares  for  it." 

The  obvious  compliment  remained  unpaid;  besides, 
Evangeline  spoke  the  truth  when  she  said  that  neither 
of  them  cared  for  small  talk.  Evangeline  appealed  to 
La  Vette  somehow ;  her  frankness,  her  candor,  the 
simplicity  of  her  manner,  the  demureness  of  her  coun 
tenance,  touched  the  tender  and  better  side  of  La 
Vette's  nature  as  it  had  not  been  touched  since  the 
latter  days  of  his  youth. 

The  swift  notes  of  the  galop  began ;  La  Vette  did 
not  hear  them.  "  I  must  crush  out  such  thoughts  of 
her,"  he  was  saying  to  himself ;  "  I  must  crush  them 
out." 

Not  caring  to  dance,  Evangeline  and  La  Vette 
seated  themselves  in  a  further  corner  of  the  room. 
Henry  Marvin  and  his  wife  were  standing  there, 
smiling,  apparently  happy ;  yet  La  Vette's  trained  ob 
servation  told  him  at  a  glance  that  the  happiness  was 
worn  on  the  face  and  not  felt  in  the  heart.  Age  had 
not  treated  Mrs.  Marvin  as  kindly  as  her  husband,  who 
was  still  well  preserved,  active,  lithe — the  finest  type 
of  the  fine  American  man  of  affairs  ;  the  outlines  of  her 
fine  figure  had  been  thinned  away  to  angularity ;  the 
features  of  her  pretty  face — a  face  that  must  have 
been  the  picture  of  Evangeline's — were  peaked  and 
sharpened.  She  wore  a  blase  and  weary  air.  She 
had  run  her  race  and  run  it  swiftly — the  marks  of  the 
speeding  were  there. 


THE  COTILLON  107 

Evangeline  and  La  Vette  were  talking  seriously; 
her  Social  Settlement  at  Marvin  was  their  topic.  La 
Vette  was  throwing  cold  water  over  the  plan.  He 
could  see  no  good  in  it.  It  elevated  the  sentiments  of 
the  poor  and  gave  them  naught  wherewith  to  satisfy 
the  finer  tastes  established  by  the  new  standard.  It 
spread  socialism,  which  he  detested.  Its  influence  was 
too  small.  It  lied  to  the  people,  not  elucidating  that 
their  poverty  resulted  from  a  false  social  system. 

He  laughed  outright  suddenly — a  harsh  and  cynical 
laugh  that  grated  on  Evangeline.  "  It's  an  odd  topic 
to  discuss  here — that  of  putting  the  poor  on  an  equal 
ity  with  the  rich,"  and  his  arm  waved  significantly  at 
the  lavishness  that  permeated  the  atmosphere  of  the 
room. 

"  I  know  that,"  she  blushed,  her  face  growing  sad, 
"  I  feel  the  woful  inconsistency  of  it,  but  what  can  I 
do,  tell  me  ?  "  she  eyed  him  pleadingly. 

He  shrugged  his  fat  shoulders  as  if  to  say  the  prob 
lem  was  without  solution.  His  remedy  to  cure  the 
disease  by  killing  the  patient  would  hardly  do  to 
suggest  there ;  undoubtedly  she  would  have  consid 
ered  the  remedy  worse  then  the  disease. 

Marvin  called  his  daughter  softly.  She  arose,  ex 
cusing  herself  to  La  Vette  with,  "  It's  part  of  the  plan, 
you  know."  La  Vette  crossed  over  to  Marvin  and  his 
wife.  He  flattered  her  by  pretending  to  understand 
her  bad  French,  which  was  almost  Greek  to  him. 
Putnam,  passing  by  with  his  partner,  commented  on 
La  Vette's  odd  appearance,  the  broad,  flat  bald  head, 
and  the  sharp  chin,  with  its  dark  Van  Dyke  beard. 

Evangeline  reappeared,  seated  in  a  sedan-chair  made 
of  pink  roses  and  lilies  of  the  valley.  Two  liveried 
servants  bore  the  floral  piece  to  the  center  of  the  room. 


io8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  How  beautiful  she  looks !  What  a  background !  " 
murmured  more  than  one  of  the  bewildered  guests. 

The  distribution  of  the  favors  began — fur  boas, 
silver  muff  chains,  brooches  and  bangles  of  jeweled 
gold,  filagree  porte-monnaies,  chatelaines,  rings,  gold 
cigarette-cases,  scarf-pins ; — one  by  one  Evangeline 
drew  these  from  her  basket  and  presented  them  to  the 
guests.  The  favors  represented  a  fortune :  Marvin 
meant  that  this  cotillon  should  be  recorded  in  social 
annals.  The  extravagance  was  Roman,  lordly. 

Evangeline  arose.  The  liveried  servants  bore  the 
sedan-chair  from  the  room.  Holding  in  her  hand  the 
last  favor,  a  watch-fob  with  a  gold  charm,  she  singled 
out  La  Vette  and  danced  away  with  him. 

"  I  wish  to  finish  our  conversation  where  it  left  off," 
she  said  simply,  her  blue  eyes  rimmed  with  a  pathos 
that  La  Vette  was  at  loss  to  comprehend.  It  touched 
him  ;  he  knew  not  why.  The  attention  of  her  flatter 
ing  choice  and  her  sadness  softened  his  heart ;  but  the 
unwonted  process  went  on  for  but  a  moment,  he  checked 
'it  consciously,  determinedly,  with  stern  thoughts  of 
the  mission  of  his  creed.  Well  for  her  that  she 
could  but  see  his  placid  countenance,  the  kindly  grav 
ity  of  the  owl-like  eyes,  that  she  might  not  see  the 
thoughts  his  brain  concealed — the  differences  were 
such  as  exist  between  the  clear  surface  waters  of  a 
pool  and  its  slimy  depths,  oozing  with  spawn. 

When  Walter  Putnam  saw  Evangeline  evince  such 
a  decided  preference  for  La  Vette  his  heart  sank;  but 
he  consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  this  was 
merely  the  policy  of  love,  that  it  would  not  be  wise  for 
her  to  favor  the  man  whom  after  all  she  favored  most. 

"  Let  us  walk,"  said  Evangeline  to  La  Vette,  "  I 
really  don't  care  to  dance." 


THE  COTILLON  109 

Nodding,  La  Vette  acquiesced.  He  diverted  the 
conversation  skilfully  and  assumed  a  cynical  attitude, 
an  armor  which  he  bore  for  the  moment  because  he 
knew  from  previous  experience  that  it  was  abhorrent 
to  her — a  shield  which  he  purposely  lifted  to  hold 
himself  aloof  from  her,  and  her  from  him.  He  spoke 
in  a  perfect  splutter  of  epigrammatic  and  cynical  de 
finition.  "  Honor,"  he  said,  "  is  a  lost  art,  much  prac 
tised  by  the  ancients.  Money,  a  standard  for  measur 
ing  a  man's  virtues.  Business,  legalized  theft.  Ge 
nius,  successful  degeneracy.  Society,  the  nursery  of 
second  childhood.  Love,  a  rather  clever  device  used 
by  novelists  only.  Marriage,  a  speculation,  chiefly 
financial.  Sincerity,  an  idiosyncrasy  of  children. 
Platonic  friendships,  Plutonic  relationships." 

"  Stop  it !  Stop  it !  I  will  leave  you  if  you  don't, 
Monsieur  La  Vette,"  cried  Evangeline.  "  I  detest 
hearing  you  talk  like  that." 

She  was  of  the  opinion  that  La  Vette's  cynicism  was 
a  thick  shell  wherein  an  excessively  sensitive  and  gen 
tle  nature  sought  refuge;  it  was  the  very  quality  in 
him  which  attracted  and  repelled  her  most.  More 
over,  La  Vette  was  clever  and  Evangeline's  opportu 
nities  for  the  meeting  of  clever  men  were  pitifully 
limited.  Wealth  is  more  exclusive  than  poverty,  and 
draws  a  more  hard-and-fast  line  of  acquaintance 
ship. 

Hamilton  and  Penton  Marvin  walked  past,  side  by 
side,  their  weazened  faces,  insipid  and  null,  wearing 
a  bored  expression.  They  turned  to  look  at  Evan 
geline,  thrusting  their  tongues  in  the  corner  of  their 
weak  mouths,  winking  slyly.  The  action  was  comical, 
made  doubly  so  by  the  strong  resemblance  of  the  two 
faces  and  the  unison  with  which  the  two  tongues 


no  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

moved.  La  Vette  laughed,  despite  himself;  Evange- 
line  blushed. 

The  twins,  as  they  were  promenading  slowly  down 
the  oblong  ball-room,  separated  adroitly,  forcing  La 
Vette  to  polka  between  them.  He  received  a  slight 
jolt  on  each  side  and  a  slighter  kick  on  his  patent 
leather  shoes.  They  had  evidently  singled  him  out  as 
a  special  object  for  persecution. 

La  Vette's  anger  bested  him  and  he  lifted  his  arm 
to  strike.  Hamilton  and  Penton  dodged  ahead,  the 
picture  of  innocence.  Xo  one,  save  the  four  con 
cerned,  had  witnessed  the  incident.  The  twins  had 
practised  this  maneuver  as  others  the  dance,  and  they 
performed  it  with  consummate  skill. 

"  Whew,"  whispered  Penton,  "  we  almost  got  it  that 
time." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hamilton,  "  he  wanted  to  hit.  Besides 
I  thought  the  governor  saw  us." 

"  So  did  I.     Let's  get  out  of  here." 

"Where  to?" 

'  To  Van's  room.  She  left  the  door  open  and  we 
can  easily  slip  in  there.  I  saw  her  purse  and  her  rings 
on  the  dresser.  The  only  thing  is,  will  they  blame  the 
waiters?  They  ought  to,  they're  such  thieves." 

The  lackeys  were  just  bringing  in  the  setting  for  a 
new  figure  when  the  twins  climbed  up  to  the  ball-room. 
Four  rose  bushes  in  full  bloom,  two  red,  one  white, 
one  pink,  were  planted  in  the  center  of  the  floor.  The 
roses  seemed  to  have  been  called  into  being  by  leger 
demain,  rather  to  have  popped  through  the  floor  like 
crocuses  through  the  ground  in  spring.  Three  young 
ladies,  arrayed  in  pink  and  white  gowns,  with  stream 
ing  hair,  dark  and  light,  were  tied  to  the  bushes  with 
white  ribbons.  Evangeline  was  bound  to  the  fourth. 


THE  COTILLON  ui 

The  electric  lights,  which  had  been  lowered,  were 
turned  on  in  full  force,  shining  lucently  through  many 
globes  of  different  colors.  There  was  a  spontaneous 
clapping  of  hands ;  a  slight  patter  of  "  ohs "  and 
"  ahs  "  that  slipped  between  enthusiastic  lips. 

The  signal  was  given.  The  men  rushed  forward 
to  untie  the  fair  captives  fastened  to  the  rose  bushes. 
To  the  swift  ones  went  the  fair  ones.  La  Vette — good 
luck  seemed  his  portion  for  that  night — with  nimble 
fingers  was  the  first  to  release  Evangeline.  They 
danced  away  to  the  quick  measure  of  the  two-step,  the 
envy  of  all,  the  especial  envy  of  Putnam,  who  was 
growing  anxious. 

"  The  four  last  roses  on  the  bush  were  the  prettiest 
by  far,"  spoke  La  Vette,  "  the  others  will  wither  away 
in  envy." 

"  Good  wine  and  pretty  women  need  no  bushes, 
Monsieur  La  Vette,"  she  retorted,  laughingly ;  and 
then  quite  seriously,  "  Come,  we  agreed  that  there  was 
to  be  no  small  talk." 

The  twins  slipped  behind  the  pair,  managing,  as  if 
by  accident,  to  stumble  on  the  train  of  their  sister's 
dress. 

"  Yes,"  La  Vette  was  saying,  "  what  is  worst  in  a 
bad  woman  often  appeals  to  a  good  man,  and  what  is 
best  in  a  good  man  often  appeals  to  the  worst  woman." 

"  Did  you  hear  that,  Ham?  " 

"  I  should  say !  " 

"  That  argues  the  moral  superiority  of  women,  does 
it  not  ?  "  asked  Evangeline,  by  way  of  response. 

"  Let's  get  out  of  this,  Ham." 

"  Yes,  they  make  me  tired." 

An  hour  after  midnight  the  dancers  marched  into 
the  dining-room  for  supper.  The  twins  brought  up 


ii2  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  rear.  They  had  sampled  the  wines  and  the  cham 
pagne  freely  before  they  put  in  their  appearance  at 
the  table.  When  the  third  course  found  its  way  to 
the  guests,  their  hilarity  attracted  attention.  Penton 
was  on  his  feet  exclaiming  La  Vette's  bon  mot,  and 
Hamilton  was  declaring  his  sister's  conclusion  there 
from,  with  equal  vociferation.  La  Vette  bit  his  lip 
with  rage;  Evangeline  hung  her  head  in  shame,  and 
when  she  was  able  to  do  so  without  attracting  atten 
tion,  she  sent  a  waiter  for  her  father.  The  twins  made 
a  hurried  exit,  hiccoughing  and  rolling  from  side  to 
side. 

When  the  guests  ascended,  the  fourth  and  last  fig 
ure  stood  in  waiting.  A  floral  belfry  arched  grace 
fully  towards  the  frescoed  ceiling.  The  glitter  of  tiny 
electric  lights  showed  a  chime  of  silver  bells  through 
the  isinglass  windows,  which  were  framed  with  white 
carnations  and  an  inner  border  of  violets  and  forget- 
me-nots.  One  of  the  young  ladies,  a  statuesque 
blonde,  was  chosen  to  stand  within  the  belfry.  The 
men  came  forward  in  turn  to  court  the  favor  of  the 
fair  bellringer ;  for  the  chosen  one  a  merry  chime  was 
rung,  for  the  rejected  a  muffled  peal  was  plaintively 
audible. 

Evangeline,  when  her  time  came  to  enter  the  belfry, 
rang  for  Putnam,  and  with  her  he  whirled  away  in 
high  feather,  thinking  that  his  course  had  run  just 
uneven  enough  to  be  considered  true  love. 

Three  o'clock  clasped  hands  with  four  when  the 
cotillon  drew  haltingly  to  its  end.  La  Vette  bade 
good-night  to  Marvin  and  his  wife,  and  he  strode  for 
ward  to  pay  his  respects  to  Evangeline. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  she  said,  pleadingly,  "  if  you 
will;  I  have  something  to  say."  Putnam  stood,  won- 


THE  COTILLON  113 

dering.  This  was  the  second  occasion  on  which  he 
had  found  Evangeline  in  a  situation  which  he  could 
not  encompass.  Putnam's  judgment  of  human  na 
ture  was  too  sound  to  consider  Evangeline  in  the  light 
of  a  coquette ;  but  he  ended  by  telling  himself  that  she 
was  odd,  whimsical,  freakish  perhaps,  after  the  man 
ner  of  women  in  general,  after  the  manner  of  women 
spoilt  by  the  indulgence  of  too  mucli  riches  in  par 
ticular. 

When  La  Vette's  cab  wheeled  him  homewards 
through  the  crisp,  cold  night,  there  was  but  one 
thought  in  his  mind  which  he  tried  to  crush  under  his 
will,  as  his  heel  might  try  ruthlessly  to  crush  a  but 
terfly ;  but  the  thought,  butterfly-like,  eluded  his  de 
termined  endeavors,  flying  away  to  reappear  again 
and  again,  and  laugh,  at  a  distance  near  enough  to  be 
tantalizing,  at  their  ineffectuality. 
8 


XII 
IN  THE  STEEL-MILL 

AT  ten,  on  the  morning  after  the  cotillon,  La 
Vette  passed  Jan  Brodski  and  Ignatz  Frank- 
as  he  was  moving  towards  the  chemical 
laboratory.  Jan  nodded.  La  Yette  stared  at  him 
coldly,  not  returning  any  sign  of  recognition. 

Jan  frowned,  plucking  at  his  red  beard.  "  Nasty 
aristocrat,"  he  muttered,  "  he's  too  proud  to  recog 
nize  me." 

"  Who  is  he?  "  asked  Ignatz. 

"  He's  the  head  chemist.  I  bring  him  samples  of 
steel  to  test." 

They  entered  the  drab,  almost  black,  building.  The 
engines  were  puffing  in  and  out ;  the  oxygen  blast 
screeched  deafeningly  through  the  immense  egg- 
shaped  converters ;  huge  cranes  swung  back  and  forth 
with  their  ladles  of  molten  steel ;  the  hollow  trans 
lucent  light  made  the  atmosphere  glare.  Somehow 
the  interior  of  the  mill  suggested  a  battle-field,  the 
roar  of  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  musketry.  Gangs 
/of  men  moved  like  a  trained  army,  warring  as  if  for 
life  against  the  mass  of  overwhelming  machinery. 

Jan  mounted  the  elevated  tracks  and  began  his  work 
of  guiding  the  small  cars  to  the  mouths  of  the  con 
verters.  Through  the  open  sides  of  the  building  the 
wind  bkw  sharp  and  bleak  against  his  back ;  a  tempest 

114 


IN  THE  STEEL-MILL        115 

of  heat  beat  like  rain  in  his  face.  Ignatz  took  his  place 
in  the  pit. 

The  lining  in  the  last  of  the  converters  in  the  row 
of  four  had  burned  out  and  the  vessel  was  not  in  use. 
Usually  the  relining  was  deferred  to  Sunday;  but 
work  was  slack  on  this  day  and  Ignatz  Frank  was  or 
dered  to  the  task.  He  stepped  inside  of  the  living 
oven,  its  sides  still  glowing  ember  white  with  crum 
bling  heat,  registering  a  temperature  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  degrees.  He  feared  that  he  should  die,  that 
he  should  crumble  and  melt  away  before  the  unending 
shower  of  arrows  poured  forth  from  this  quiver.  His 
hands  were  blistered;  his  feet  were  burned  and  scorch 
ed  ;  his  head  swirled.  Discharge,  starvation,  nothing 
could  restrain  him  longer.  He  crept  out ;  his  body  lax ; 
his  spirit  quailed  and  faint.  Courage  came  with 
strength  regained  and  he  crept  back  in  the  burning 
belly  of  the  monster. 

Almost  above  Ignatz's  head,  Jan  was  pushing  the 
small  cars,  laden  with  molten  metal,  to  the  mouths  of 
the  egg-shaped,  yawning  converters.  They  tipped  to 
receive  their  food  and  then  pivoted  back  into  place. 
The  blast  of  roaring  oxygen  was  turned  on ;  a  stream, 
a  comet  of  sparks  hissed  skyward ;  the  iron  was  con 
verted  into  steel,  and  the  levermen  tipped  the  twenty- 
tonned  eggs  and  the  foaming  steel  poured  into  the 
ladles  on  the  floor  of  the  pit.  A  cascade  of  shifting 
colors  rolled  over  the  ladles. 

Exhausted,  Ignatz  crawled  out  of  the  relined  con 
verter.  He  sat  on  a  pile  of  scrap,  holding  his  head 
with  his  hands,  oblivious  to  the  beauty  of  the  never- 
ending  pyrotechnic  display  going  on  around  him. 
One  of  the  ponderous  eggs  rolled  into  position ;  the 
comet  of  sparks  shot  earthward,  breaking  against  the 


n6  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

walls  of  the  building  which  impeded  its  flight.  A 
wide  patch  of  carmine  seethed  on  the  sand ;  then  the 
overflowing  steel,  ready  to  explode,  spread  across  the 
sand  of  the  pit  like  a  stream. 

"  Look  out !  Look  out !  "  screamed  the  levermen  on 
their  raised  platforms. 

The  men,  white  with  fear,  scattered  in  all  direc 
tions,  yelling  and  crying  as  they  ran.  They  could 
have  gained  but  a  few  feet  when  there  came  a  terrific 
crash;  the  building  shook  and  tottered;  the  converters 
rocked  on  their  trunnions.  Sparks  shot  in  every  di 
rection  and  burst  with  the  roar  of  exploding  shells 
against  the  walls,  lighting  the  room  ominously,  ap 
pearing  and  disappearing  through  the  heavy  smoke 
like  candle  flames  shining  afar  in  a  blinding  mist. 

Screams  and  groans  and  shrieks  of  the  wounded 
throbbed  to  heaven  piteously.  The  danger  whistles 
piped  shrilly.  The  levermen  and  the  carmen  jumped 
down  into  the  pit  to  aid  their  injured  comrades.  Old 
Jackson,  the  engineer,  shut  off  the  power  in  his  en 
gine-house  and  came  tottering  into  the  devastated  mill. 
He  burst  into  tears,  and,  creeping  into  a  corner,  he 
covered  his  round,  weazened,  almost  boyish  face  with 
his  hands.  The  watchmen  formed  a  cordon  on  the 
outside  of  the  building  and  held  the  crowd  of  mill 
hands  back. 

Eight  bodies,  mangled  and  maimed,  writhed  on  the 
floor. 

Jan  bent  down  in  the  clotted  sand  before  Ignatz's 
unconscious  body,  trying  to  stanch  the  blood  that 
poured  from  the  wound  with  his  handkerchief.  Jan 
was  crazed,  beside  himself  with  a  nameless  dread,  and 
vibrating  sympathy.  "  We  are  going  to  get  even,  you 
hear.  We  are  going  to  get  even,  you  hear !  "  he  whis- 


IN  THE  STEEL-MILL         117 

pered  in  Ignatz's  ear,  as  if  the  promise  of  vengeance 
were  the  one  anodyne  that  could  deaden  his  comrade's 
pain. 

The  photographers  moved  down  from  the  offices  to 
take  the  scene.  The  doctors  were  doing  their  work 
skilfully  and  coolly;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  in 
jured  were  removed  through  the  mill-yard  into  the 
hospital  on  stretchers. 

The  whistles  blew,  the  sailor  gang  cleared  all  ob 
structions;  old  Jackson  was  back  at  his  post;  the 
engines  started,  the  converters  went  on  cooking  the 
iron  food  for  the  mill ;  the  men  resumed  their 
places. 

Jan  climbed  back  on  the  tracks,  his  heart  aching,  his 
compressed  lips  silencing  his  cries  for  vengeance. 
Now  and  then  his  anger  conquered  his  caution,  and  he 
would  cease  his  work,  assume  an  upright  position  and 
shake  his  doubled  fist  at  the  converters,  mumbling: 
"  We  will  get  even,  you  hear !  You  are  going  to  pay 
for  this,  you  hear!  You  killed  my  father  just  like 
that.  How  long  do  you  think  we  will  let  you  go  on 
like  this,  eh?  Are  you  going  to  turn  on  the  rest  of 
us  next  ?  Just  wait,  you !  "  His  face  was  cruel, 
canine. 

When  the  shift  was  relieved,  Jan  ran  through  the 
yards  to  the  hospital.  He  did  not  take  time  to  remove 
his  jumpers  or  overalls ;  his  dinner-pail  was  in  his 
hand;  his  face  was  black  with  grime  and  dirt. 

A  nurse,  in  white  cap  and  immaculate  costume, 
opened  the  door  in  answer  to  Jan's  ring.  He  fum 
bled  with  his  hat,  abashed  before  such  clean  femininity. 
His  past  experience  had  not  prepared  him  for  such 
an  encounter. 

"  Lady,"    he    stammered,    in    his    broken    English, 


n8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  a  friend  of  mine  he  here,  much  hurt.  Tgnatz 
Frank  his  name.  He  been  hurt  in  explosion  by  steel- 
mill." 

"  Are  you  a  relative  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,  I  been,"  he  asserted  stoutly. 

"  He  wished  to  see  some  of  his  friends,"  she  said, 
pleasantly.  "  Come  in." 

Jan  felt  thrice  discomfited  by  his  dirt  and  grime — 
it  was  the  first  time  in  all  his  life  that  the  sensation  of 
shame  on  that  account  came  over  him. 

Down  the  ward,  sparkling  from  its  very  cleanli 
ness,  Jan  walked  between  the  rows  of  iron  beds  that 
fairly  shimmered  in  their  snow-white  coverings.  It 
was  all  so  fresh  here,  so  quiet,  so  restful,  so  clean. 
It  was  like  escaping  from  the  stifling  city  into  the 
whist  of  verdant  forests,  this  walk  of  Jan's  from  the 
steel-mill  into  the  hospital. 

There  lay  Ignatz,  bandaged  almost  beyond  recog 
nition,  and  at  rest ;  for  anesthetics  had  bestowed  sur 
cease  from  pain  upon  him.  An  indefinite  feeling  of 
envy  came  over  Jan  for  the  minute,  a  desire  to  change 
places  with  his  injured  comrade,  to  lie  there  in  the 
clean  white  bed,  and  breathe  in  an  atmosphere  that 
was  neither  too  hot  nor  too  cold.  How  he  hated  the 
idea  of  returning  to  work  in  that  hell !  The  thought 
of  mounting  the  track  and  shoving  the  cars  past  the 
converters,  back  and  forth,  like  a  scourged  slave, 
nauseated  him. 

Then  the  price  that  these  poor  fellows  were  paying 
for  their  few  minutes'  rest  and  their  bit  of  hitherto 
unknown  luxury  dawned  upon  him ;  some  of  them 
would  never  rise  again,  some  sightless ;  some  less  a 
leg  or  an  arm ;  mutilated,  useless ;  a  worthless  ma 
chine  in  life's  workshop.  To  think  that  the  "  bosses  " 


IN  THE  STEEL-MILL         119 

were  always  surrounded  thus  and  that  they  paid  no 
price  of  suffering  or  pain — it  was  too  much !  The 
hospital  vanished ;  the  blood  filled  Jan's  eyes,  he  saw 
but  the  glory  of  the  hour  of  the  coming  of  venge 
ance. 

Jan  bent  over  his  dying  comrade.  He  tugged  at  his 
red  beard  and  clawed  at  his  finger-nails.  Heedless  of 
the  desecration  he  plunged  his  black  fist  into  the  white 
pillow. 

"  He's  far  gone,"  whispered  the  nurse,  "  he  hasn't 
very  long  to  live.  If  he  has  friends " 

"  No,  only  me.  He  alone  here  in  Amerik,  lady. 
The  priest  I  better  get  ?  No !  "  he  answered  his  own 
question.  Ignatz  would  have  no  priest  in  his  con 
scious  moments,  he  should  have  none  in  his  uncon 
scious  ones.  Jan  waved  the  lamp  of  reason  aloft  and 
frightened  away  the  hovering  shadows  of  training, 
tradition,  and  the  fear  that  death  inspires.  No,  he 
would  have  no  priest. 

Ignatz's  eyes  opened  and  shut  slowly  as  if  to  drink 
in  and  shut  out  the  light.  They  passed  over  the  fea 
tures  of  Jan's  face  like  a  human  hand,  and  Jan  shud 
dered. 

"  Wanda,"  he  half  spoke  and  half  formed  the  name 
with  his  lips. 

"  My  sister,  his  dear,  I  get  her,"  explained  Jan  to 
the  nurse. 

She  shook  her  head.  It  was  too  late  now.  It  would 
all  be  over  in  a  minute. 

Jan  returned  home  sadly,  considering  in  what  way 
he  might  break  the  news  to  his  sister  most  gently. 
Wanda's  lips  became  drawn  when  she  heard  the 
gloomy  tragedy,  and  her  face  grew  as  bloodless  as 
her  lips.  She  swooned  away.  All  that  night  she  be- 


120  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

wailed  the  loss  of  her  lover.  In  the  morning  she  was 
still  inconsolable ;  she  refused  to  eat.  She  sat  by  her 
self,  speechless,  tearless,  with  clenched  fists,  refusing 
consolation.  There  was  another  member  in  that 
house  who  awaited  the  hour  of  reckoning. 


XIII 
THE  BUILDERS 

NORTHWARD  began  the  migration  of  the 
"  snowbirds " — men  who  idle  the  summer 
through  and  seek  work  in  the  winter,  when 
driven  by  cold  and  hunger.  Inadequately  clothed, 
thin-faced,  and  shivering,  they  flocked  around  the  mill 
gate,  clamoring  for  work,  offering  to  do  anything  at 
any  price,  competing  sharply  for  the  places  of  the 
labor  engaged. 

The  immigrants  began  to  arrive  in  herds.  Every 
early-morning  freight  train  brought  its  load  of  them. 
Clad  in  old-country  clothes,  green  coats  and  befeath- 
ered  hats,  they  dismounted  from  the  trains  and  disap 
peared  mysteriously,  only  to  reappear  later  on  and 
join  the  hungry  throng  without  the  gates  in  a  whining 
appeal  for  work  and  wages,  and,  as  the  days  went  on 
and  neither  work  nor  wages  came,  they  complained 
bitterly — the  foreign  agents  had  promised  so  much 
and  the  Company  had  fulfilled  none  of  the:r  promises. 

Competition  for  place  grew  rife.  Discharges  were 
frequent;  the  superintendents  drove  their  men  harder 
and  worked  them  longer  hours.  Discontent  was  om 
nipresent,  smoldering,  not  daring  to  burst  into  flame. 
Ah,  when  the  right  wind  came! 

Judson's  automatic  tools  were  put  in  operation 
within  the  cast-houses  and  whole  shifts  were  thrown 

121 


122  BY   BREAD   ALONE 

out  of  employment ;  and  his  invention  for  the  making 
of  pig  iron  increased  the  number  of  unfortunates. 
Rumors  in  the  rail-mill  of  new  labor-saving  machin 
ery  made  hundreds  fear  lest  theirs  was  the  labor  to  be 
saved.  The  suspense  was  agonizing.  Men  went  to 
work  in  the  morning,  wondering  whether  they  would 
still  be  employed  when  the  night  came. 

The  tonnage  men,  whose  wages  were  computed  on 
the  output  of  tons,  had  prepared  and  handed  in  their 
"  scales  " ;  and  there  bad  been  frequent  consultations 
between  Marvin  and  the  delegates  from  the  different 
lodges  of  the  unions,  but  thus  far  nothing  but  wrang 
ling  and  bickering  had  resulted.  Hatred  was  mistress 
of  the  mills. 

"  I  tell  you,"  said  Winslow  to  Blair  at  the  lodge  one 
night,  "  there's  trouble  ahead  and  bad  trouble  at  that." 

"  It  isn't  ahead,  Winslow,"  answered  Blair,  "  it's 
here." 

"  Well,  Carrhart,  I'm  satisfied :  the  sooner  it  comes 
the  better.  We  have  to  decide  this  thing  one  way  or 
the  other ;  if  we  don't  they'll  crush  the  life  out  of  us 
before  we  decide.  I  can  see  their  little  game ;  they're 
trying  to  force  us  to  knuckle  down  to  their  '  scales/  ' 

"  T  have  been  saying  that  right  along,"  put  in 
Blair. 

"  I  want  to  warn  you  about  one  thing,  Carrhart." 

"What's  that,  Winslow?  Have  I  been  talking  too 
much  ?  " 

"  Yes  and  no.  It  ain't  the  muchness ;  it's  the  time 
of  the  muchness.  Let  the  hot-headed  fellows  talk 
themselves  dry  on  this  scale  question  now.  We'll  be 
tired  of  hearing  them  about  the  time  the  game  is 
called  and  every  man  has  to  show  his  cards.  They'll 
be  talked  out  then,  and  thcn's  the  time  for  vou  to 


THE  BUILDERS  123 

show  your  hand.  If  you  speak  then  they'll  be  ready 
to  listen,  and  if  you  talk  sense,  your  sense  stands  a 
chance  of  being  remembered.  We'll  want  a  final 
committee  to  wait  on  the  powers,  and  if  you  want  to 
try  your  strength  with  the  powers,  don't  waste  too 
much  of  it  on  this  preliminary  parley." 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  said  Blair,  reflectively. 

"  I  don't  guess,  I  know — I've  been  through  the 
mills  in  more  senses  than  one,"  retorted  the  wise  Eng 
lishman.  "  I've  always  admired  the  Pope,  myself— 
he  holds  his  job  so  long;  but  in  the  unions  it's  differ 
ent  ;  you're  up  to-day  and  down  to-morrow.  I've 
seen  whole  bushels  of  leaders  crop  up  and  die  down 
in  my  time,  and  I  know  what  I'm  talking  about. 
Don't  reach  for  the  top ;  let  some  ass  get  that  and  you 
can  jerk  the  ass  by  the  ears.  Keep  yourself  in  the 
background  and  let  your  brains  count  up  in  the  fore 
ground.  You  can  have  all  the  authority  you  want 
and  no  jealousy,  if  you're  smart,  do  you  see?  " 

Blair  nodded  ;  he  saw. 

The  time  was  ripe  for  all  kinds  of  agitation  and  all 
k:nds  of  agitators  were  busy.  Sophia  Goldstein  min 
gled  much  with  the  crowds  of  malcontents,  distribut 
ing  her  flamboyant  tracts  surreptitiously.  Blair  saw 
her  frequently,  often  with  Paul,  once  or  twice  with 
his  arch-enemy  Vorlinski,  who  had  found  work  in  the 
shipyards.  He  found  her  at  the  Dumb-Bell  one 
night,  haranguing  its  patrons.  Unseen  by  her,  he 
mingled  in  the  crowd  and  listened,  aghast  at  her  ap 
peal  for  blood  and  vengeance,  shuddering  as  he  heard. 
The  woman  seemed  transformed  into  a  wild  animal ; 
her  black  eyes  glowed  like  those  of  a  carnivorous 
beast  about  to  seize  its  prey ;  her  long  hands  were  like 
claws,  strangling,  merciless. 


i24  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  effect  of  her  words ; 
they  were  like  so  many  sparks  falling  on  straw, 
already  flames  were  breaking  out,  in  a  moment  it 
would  be  too  late,  the  p  le  would  be  on  fire  and  no 
power  on  earth  could  quench  the  blaze.  The  excita 
ble  ones  were  yelping  their  applause,  crying  out 
with  her  for  blind  and  pitiless  revenge,  repeating, 
like  furies,  her  watchwords  of  anarchy  and  revolu 
tion. 

Blair's  burly  frame  pushed  its  way  forward.  "  That 
talk  must  cease,"  he  cried. 

"Who  is  he?  Put  him  out!"  she  shouted,  eying 
Blair,  defiantly.  "  How  dare  he  interrupt  ?  '' 

'  You  are  an  enemy  to  our  cause !  "  he  cried.  "  Such 
talk  is  for  the  stews,  the  slums;  for  jailbirds  and  out 
casts,  not  for 

Three  men,  strangers,  grasped  Blair  by  the  arms. 
He  tossed  them  off.  The  crowd  'stood  undecided, 
Blair's  magnetism  was  by  no  means  stale ;  the  fascina 
tion  for  the  woman  was  still  fresh. 

"  Out  with  him  !  '*  she  exhorted,  taking  advantage 
of  their  indecision ;  "  he's  a  spy  in  the  pay  of  the  cap 
italists/' 

"  You  lie !  You  lie !  "  went  up  from  all  sides,  the 
apparent  falsity  of  her  accusation  turning  the  tide  of 
the'r  fickle  sympathies.  The  crowd  rallied  about  their 
old  friend,  often  tried,  never  found  wanting.  They 
would  have  laid  violent  hands  on  the  woman,  had  not 
Blair  interfered.  The  blaze  was  quenched ;  only  here 
and  there  a  spark,  sheltered  in  some  friendly  nook. 
still  preserved  the  warmth  of  its  fire,  to  break  out 
later  on.  and  more  fiercely. 

At  the  door  the  wormn — a  half-melodramatic,  half- 
tragic  figure — turned  and  warned: 


THE  BUILDERS  125 

"  It's  the  last  day  that  will  tell  most,  my  friend ; 
we'll  see  then/' 

"  Yes/'  answered  Blair,  "  on  the  last  day." 

For  a  long  while  Blair  remained  behind  with  the 
men,  expostulating,  trying  to  make  it  clear  to  them 
that  to  follow  the  path  this  woman  had  suggested  was 
to  lead  to  their  own  inevitable  ruin,  accomplishing  noth 
ing.  It  was  after  midnight  when  he  left  the  Dumb- 
Bell,  and  standing  there  alone  in  the  darkness  with 
his  own  thought,  he  shuddered  and  was  afraid.  For 
the  skilful  hand  at  the  chosen  minute,  how  easy  it 
were  to  slip  the  noose  from  the  passion  of  this  mob 
and  let  it  run  at  riot ;  but  once  slipped  to  replace  the 
noose  were  beyond  all  human  power  whatsoever ;  nay, 
it  were  certain  death  to  him  who  made  the  attempt. 

At  home  Mrs.  Brodski  was  awaiting  Blair's  return. 
He  was  her  only  sympathetic  listener,  and  although 
he  could  do  nothing  to  remove  the  cause  of  her  cark 
and  care,  still  the  consolation  which  came  from  the 
mere  telling  was  as  balm  to  its  smart.  The  suffering 
there  was  intolerable.  The  earnings  of  the  family 
had  undergone  a  severe  reduction,  and  the  prices  for 
provis;ons  and  coal  were  still  soaring  upwards.  A 
petition  to  the  Company,  signed  by  over  five  thousand 
names,  beseeching  a  reduction  in  the  rent  proportionate 
to  the  reduction  in  wages,  received  no  attention.  The 
semi-yearly  repairs  were  made,  and  the  tenants  had  the 
option  of  meeting  their  bills  or  seeking  quarters  else 
where,  and  as  the  choice  lay  between  the  Company's 
houses  or  the  open  prairie,  the  unfortunate  ones  were 
not  long  in  coming  to  a  decision.  Even  as  early  as 
three  or  four  in  the  chill  mornings,  Mrs.  Brodski 
arose,  threw  a  black  shawl  over  her  head,  and  grasp 
ing  a  large  basket,  joined  the  army  of  women  who 


ia6  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

were  gleaning-  coal  along  the  railroad  tracks.  In  the 
daytime  Ann  and  Mary  and  Thomas  were  kept  busy 
at  the  same  occupation.  A  gang  of  youngsters,  bolder 
than  their  comrades,  broke  into  the  coal  cars;  the  po 
lice  swooped  down  upon  them  unexpectedly,  and 
Thomas  was  among  the  few  unfortunates  who  were 
caught  and  arrested.  Jan  and  Paul's  wages  for  that 
week  went  to  the  paying  of  his  fine. 

And  so,  when  the  first  of  January  came  and  the 
celebration  of  the  Trey  Krolc — the  three  kings — was 
observed,  when,  with  red  chalk  that  the  priest  had 
blessed,  the  initials  K.  M.  and  B.  (Kaspar,  Melchior 
and  Balthasar)  were  written  on  the  door,  the  Brod- 
skis  had  no  means  to  make  joyous  after  their  usual 
simple  fashion.  A  day  of  thanksgiving,  of  merry 
making,  does  much  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the 
hard,  long  months ;  but  this  year  the  Brodskis  found 
no  break  in  their  wretchedness,  no  momentary  escape 
from  misery. 

It  was  the  same  elsewhere — the  Brodskis  were  no 
shining  mark  for  misfortune ;  everywhere  was  the 
same  squalor,  the  same  destitution,  the  same  woe  and 
want.  They  were  all  busy  days  and  nights  for  Blair, 
and  to  no  home  where  hunger  and  sickness  were  op 
pressive  visitors,  was  his  cheering  presence  a  stranger ; 
and  so  again,  as  the  days  waned,  did  his  influence  and 
acquaintanceship  wax. 

Now  if  ever,  he  thought  was  the  season  ripe  for 
the  preaching  of  his  gospel,  and  his  only  fear  was  lest 
the  season  pass  and  harvest  time  come  and  find  his 
fruit  gone  to  seed.  Occasions  were  not  lacking  where 
he  had  dropped  a  word  here  and  there,  making  con 
verts,  as  it  were,  on  the  wayside ;  but  his  soul  longed 
for  some  one  masterful  opportunity  when  he  should 


THE  BUILDERS  127 

compel  the  attention  of  hundreds — yes,  with  the 
masses  for  a  fulcrum  his  lever  would  raise  the  world 
to  unheard-of  heights.  He  grew  restless,  depressed 
by  his  inactivity  in  behalf  of  his  cause.  He  resolved 
to  go  to  his  opportunity  since  it  would  not  come .  to 
him ;  what  was  not  given  to  him  he  would  make  for 
himself. 

He  reminded  Michael  of  his  promise  to  take  him  to 
the  socialistic  meetings,  and  Michael  conducted  Blair 
thither  one  Sunday  afternoon,  wondering  at  his 
anxiety  and  interest. 

In  a  clammy  cold  room  on  the  upper  floor  of  the 
Dumb-Bell,  some  thirty  toil-bent  men  sat  on  the  rough 
benches  and  listened  to  the  most  commonplace  teach 
ers  expound  their  theories  of  the  better  day.  Those 
woe-begone  faces,  usually  so  stolid  and  inexpressive, 
now  lit  up  with  highest  hope,  oblivious  of  all  the  be 
setting  affliction  of  the  hour,  seeing  only  the  light 
that  gleamed  from  the  mountain  tops  of  the  far-off 
promised  land — a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey, 
ruled  by  justice  and  equality — made  an  impressive 
and  pathetic  sight  and  one  that  lingered  long  in 
Blair's  memory,  reminding  him  somehow  of  Millet's 
peasants  bending  reverently  and  awkwardly  to  the 
ringing  of  the  Angelus. 

One  of  the  speakers  was  denouncing  the  trusts,  and 
Blair  arose  to  oppose  his  views,  trying  to  make  it* 
clear  that  the  trusts  were  a  great  socialistic  movement, 
a  seven-leagued  step  towards  the  consummation  they 
so  devoutly  wished.  The  trusts,  he  said,  gathered  a 
thousand  scattered  enterprises  under  one  head,  and, 
disposing  of  the  useless  capitalists,  prepared  the  way 
for  a  manager  to  take  charge  in  the  name  of  the  peo- 
pie. 


128  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

His  enthusiasm  and  clarity  won  the  esteem  of  his 
hearers  and  they  applauded  vigorously.  Encouraged, 
stimulated,  Blair  went  on,  gradually  mastering  him 
self  and  his  voice,  bending  his  words  to  his  meaning. 
He  let  his  earnestness  carry  him  away,  and  before 
he  was  aware  of  it  he  had  advanced  far  into  the  out 
lining  of  his  Cooperative  Commonwealth. 

He  denounced  the  present  system  of  capitalism 
which  was  grinding  the  multitudes  to  dust.  They 
were  muzzling  the  oxen  that  ground  their  corn  ;  woe 
to  them  if  the  oxen  slipped  their  muzzles !  He  quoted 
the  great  German  thinker  who  had  compared  the  sys 
tem  social  to  a  tree  of  which  capital  was  the  fruit  and 
foliage,  basking  in  the  bright  sun,  the  middle  classes 
the  trunk  that  upheld  the  brilliant  burden,  and 
labor  the  roots  that  delved  in  the  dark  noisome  soil 
to  nourish  the  tree  whose  fruit  it  might  neither  see 
nor  taste.  How  long  should  this  endure?  Was 
labor  never  to  participate  in  the  products  of  its  own 
creation  ? 

Socialism  said  that  to  the  toiler  belonged  the  fruit : 
the  Cooperative  Commonwealth  would  distribute  the 
fruits  in  accordance  with  the  merits  of  the  toiler. 
Socialism  was  not  optimism  riding  triumphant  over 
human  nature ;  the  Cooperative  Commonwealth  was 
based  on  a  corner-stone  of  fact,  solid  as  the  ground. 

The  new  state  would  begin  at  the  beginning  of 
things ;  it  would  take  the  child  to  its  own  schools,  and 
teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot  towards  the  nobler 
aims  of  the  social  commonwealth.  Civic  churches 
would  supplant  the  dogmatic  worship  of  the  creeds. 
Socialism  was  to  be  both  education  and  religion ; 
church  and  school  would  help  combat  the  selfish  ego 
istic  ideas  instilled  through  the  centuries. 


THE  BUILDERS  129 

The  citiesjiad  already  pointed  t^p  way;  laying  thp 
foundation  upon  which  the  Cooperative  Common 
wealth  was  to  Be  built;  they  were  everywhere  acquir 
ing  the  ownership  of  public  franchises — gas,  water, 
street  cars,  telephones.  The  day  was  not  far  off  when 
the  cities  would  house  its  own  masses,  build  streets  of 
residences  and  rent  them.  They  would  erect  their 
own  theaters,  even  as  they  had  their  own  public  li 
braries. 

Above  the  city  was  the  state  with  its  broader  duties, 
the  socialization  of  its  mines,  the  superintendence  of 
its  municipalities  and  their  various  enterprises ;  the 
control  of  the  liquor  traffic ;  the  management  of 
cooperative  societies  for  the  unemployed. 

Above  city  and  state  was  the  national  government, 
with  duties  broadest  and  most  potent  of  all.  To-day 
it  owned  the  postal  system ;  to-morrow  it  would  be 
the  railroad  and  the  telegraph  and  the  interstate  tele 
phone  and  express  service.  It  would  start  national 
banks  of  deposit,  and  loan  its  money  at  low  rates  of 
interest  to  the  cooperative  societies  of  the  sep 
arate  states  and  to  needy  and  worthy  farmers.  It 
would  insure  the  lives  of  its  people  at  low  charges, 
in  small  policies.  Thus  would  the  people  come 
to  regard  their  government  with  reverence  and 
love. 

Finally,  as  apex  of  the  pyramid,  the  crowning  stone 
for  which  the  base  was  built — the  socialization  of 
private  industries.  The  trusts  had  pointed  the  way 
and  the  method ;  they  had  even  gone  farther  and  estab 
lished  the  machinery  by  organizing  industry  for  the 
mastery  of  the  people.  Here  at  the  mills,  for  instance, 
they  would  form  cooperatively,  each  work  for  all,  all 
work  for  the  benefit  of  each.  They  would  find  room 
9 


130  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

for  executive  ability,  business  acumen,  managerial  ca 
pacity,  and  they  would  pay  for  it  liberally. 

Money  was  not  the  only  power  that  moved  men, 
honor  was  a  higher  and  greater  stimulus ;  stirred  by 
popular  acclamation  and  the  love  of  grateful  multi 
tudes,  men  would  toil  harder  for  the  advancement  of 
the  Cooperative  Commonwealth  than  they  would  mere 
ly  for  their  own  interests.  The  desire  for  progress 
was  in  the  nature  of  man,  fundamental  as  his  pas 
sions  ;  it  was  not  dependent  on  exterior  forces ;  it 
needed  no  promise  of  reward  for  a  lure. 

The  profits  made  by  the  mill  would  go  to  the  im 
provement  of  the  town,  the  laying  out  of  parks,  the 
building  of  model  tenements  and  homes,  libraries, 
theaters  and  schools.  Pension  funds  for  the  aged,  the 
disabled,  would  be  founded ;  usurious  rents  would  be 
abolished ;  the  exhausting  overwork  would  come  to  an 
end ;  the  cruel  underpay  would  be  as  the  remembrance 
of  a  nightmare  of  the  past;  the  careless  slaughter  of 
life  would  be  abolished  and  the  mills  would  be  recon 
structed  with  a  view  to  the  comfort  and  safety  of  its 
toilers. 

Before  Blair  had  done,  tears  stole  down  the  rough 
cheeks  of  his  auditors,  to  be  dashed  away  by  still 
rougher  hands.  They  had  toiled  so  agonizingly  in 
their  lives ;  they  had  been  deprived  of  so  much,  and 
enjoyed  so  little,  that  they  were  as  overcome  by  Blair's 
golden  picture  of  the  future  as  a  blind  man  when  the 
skilful  physician  speaks  of  a  restoration  to  sight. 
Strange,  were  it  not,  if  the  heart  of  the  afflicted  would 
not  leap  up  at  such  words,  even  though  their  realiza 
tion  were  impossible  and  the  physician  himself  but  a 
puppet  in  the  hands  of  hope?  Utopia  belongs  to  hu 
manity  even  as  the  mirage  belongs  to  the  desert. 


THE  BUILDERS  131 

It  was  all  so  real,  so  possible,  so  true  to  them  that 
they  were  stirred  by  the  discovery  that  life  after  all 
was  something  better  than  a  bad  road  between  birth 
and  death,  which  the  whip  of  necessity  compelled 
them  to  travel.  When  he  had  done  they  crowded 
around  him,  struggling,  after  their  Slavonic  habit, 
for  the  honor  of  kissing  his  hand;  so  Blair  himself 
was  touched  by  the  unexpected  result,  and  his  strong 
soul  was  all  but  carried  away  to  tears. 

Blair's  reputation  grew,  as  it  were,  by  multiplica 
tion,  spread  by  every  voice,  and  the  tens  who  came  to 
hear  him  were  increased  to  twenties  and  the  twenties 
to  thirties;  finally  the  society  was  forced  to  hold  its 
meetings  in  the  large  dance-hall  on  the  second  floor 
of  the  Dumb-Bell,  used  for  weddings.  The  hall  itself 
was  too  small,  the  doorway  was  thronged  and  the 
aisles  packed.  The  women  came  with  the  men,  bring 
ing  their  knitting,  sewing  as  they  listened,  affected  by 
the  charm  of  Blair's  voice,  his  eloquence  and  his 
compelling  enthusiasm. 

Not  always  did  they  understand  what  he  said,  but 
there  were  plenty  there  to  interpret;  and  besides  it 
sufficed  to  know  that  here  was  one  who  championed 
the  cause  of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed,  and  that,  as 
with  the  advent  of  another  Messiah,  there  could  not 
fail  to  come  with  him  a  better  order  on  earth. 

Even  Mrs.  Brodski  attended,  for,  as  she  said,  she 
could  not  understand  English  anyway  and  it  could 
do  no  harm  to  listen  to  what  she  could  not  compre 
hend;  but  she  was  carried  away  like  the  rest,  not 
knowing  why,  and  not  caring  either.  They  vested 
Blair  with  divinity ;  their  love  became  a  worship. 

Blair's  new  religion  struggled  for  existence  against 
the  religions  established  by  the  centuries,  and,  won- 


132          BY  BREAD  ALONE 

clerful  to  relate,  it  was  not  worsted  in  the  combat. 
Absences  from  the  church  became  painfully  notice 
able,  and  the  priest  scolded  and  threatened,  but  neither 
threat  nor  scolding  availed ;  for  greater  and  greater 
grew  Blair's  audience,  until  the  society  spoke  of  seek 
ing  larger  quarters  than  the  Dumb-Bell  could  afford. 

One  Sunday  Father  Kozma,  the  Polish  priest,  ar 
rayed  in  his  sacerdotal  robe,  walked  fearlessly  into  the 
lion's  den,  interrupted  Blair's  speech  and  commanded 
his  parishioners  to  depart.  But  few  left ;  it  was  whis 
pered  that  for  years  the  Company's  money  had  been 
pouring  into  the  coffers  of  the  church  to  range  relig 
ious  authority  on  its  side.  Twice  the  interference  of 
the  church  had  prevented  a  strike. 

"  I  warn  you,"  declared  the  blond  priest,  his  thin 
frame  quivering,  "  that  your  day  is  short ;  you  must 
leave  this  town  soon." 

'  The  warning  is  useless,"  answered  Blair,  "  how 
ever  short  my  day  I  stay  here  until  it  is  over." 

After  the  meeting,  when  Blair  returned  home,  he 
found  Father  Kozma  in  waiting.  Mrs.  Brodski  sat 
in  silence,  her  hands  on  her  knees,  rocking  her  body 
to  and  fro;  the  children  were  clinging  to  her  in 
fright  and  crying.  Wanda,  listless  and  indifferent,  as 
she  had  been  since  the  death  of  Ignatz,  took  no  part 
in  the  controversy  that  was  dividing  the  family. 

"  He  shan't  go,"  said  Jan,  defiantly,  tugging  at  his 
red  beard,  "  we  want  him  here." 

Paul  and  Michael  moved  to  Blair's  side,  showing 
by  their  looks  that  they  favored  him,  no  matter  what 
the  cost. 

"  He  goes,"  cried  the  priest,  wrathfully,  "  or  the 
curse  of  excommunication  rests  on  all  in  this  home." 

"  Let  it  rest/'  grumbled  Michael. 


THE  BUILDERS  133 

"  Michael,"  sobbed  the  mother,  pleadingly. 

"  He  stays,"  cried  Jan. 

The  mother  burst  into  tears. 

"  I  cannot  allow  this  on  my  account,  Father  Koz- 
ma,"  said  Blair,  quietly,  "  I  came  here  to  do  these  peo 
ple  good,  not  to  harm  them;  there  will  be  no  more 
trouble  on  this  score.  I  leave  here  to-night." 


XIV 

THE  JUDSONS 

LAIR  spoke  to  Winslow  about  his  quest  for 
lodgings,  and  Winslow  recommended  the  Jud- 
son  family.  Although  Blair  did  not  know 
it  then,  Winslow  had  a  double  motive  in  the  rec 
ommendation  ;  in  the  first  place,  he  was  interested  in 
their  oldest  daughter ;  in  the  second  place,  the  Judsons 
were  anxious  to  secure  a  boarder. 

"  Old  "  Judson,  as  he  was  more  familiarly  and  pop 
ularly  known,  was  a  Yankee  and  he  had  all  the  in 
ventiveness  that  his  New  England  ancestry  betok 
ened.  He  was  the  head  draughtsman  in  the  mills  and 
the  best  machinery  used  therein  was  the  offspring  of 
his  fertile  imagination.  He  earned  a  fair  salary  and 
took  care  of  it  with  greater  facility  than  he  earned  it ; 
but  his  money-earning,  money-saving  faculties  in  no 
wise  indicated  his  descent.  He  was  too  much  inter 
ested  in  the  world  in  general  to  confine  himself  to 
money  in  particular.  His  eye  was  on  life  and  not  on  a 
bargain.  His  inventions,  as  h's  friends  often  told 
him,  would  have  made  another  man  rich  ;  but  Jud 
son  told  his  friends  that  he  was  not  another  man. 
Besides,  he  was  contented,  and  contentment  is  more 
than  riches,  if  you  believe  in  the  proverb,  and  Judson 
believed  in  it. 

His  wife,   who  was  good-natured  and  easy-going 


THE  JUDSONS  135 

and  fat — two  of  them  requisites  for  happiness,  the 
third  often  a  concomitant  of  the  other  two — agreed 
with  her  husband  just  enough  to  give  the  spice  of 
variety  to  the  evenness  of  their  existence  by  an  oc 
casional  difference  in  opinion.  She  believed  that 
riches  were  more  than  contentment ;  but,  nevertheless, 
she  was  contented  with  what  they  had.  She  dressed 
in  bad  taste,  preferably  loud  colors  and  a  variety  of 
them ;  and  her  husband  thought  her  the  glass  of 
fashion.  She,  in  turn,  considered  him  a  clever  little 
man  (she  always  spoke  of  him  as  "my  clever  little 
man  " — the  little  referring  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
smaller  than  she)  ;  and  what  he  said,  even  though 
she  might  dispute  it  at  the  time,  was  for  her  as  the 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  the  Persians.  He  was  busy  in 
the  mill  and  she  in  the  household  during  the  day ;  at 
night  nothing  could  induce  the  one  to  forego  the  com 
pany  of  the  other. 

The  eldest  daughter  Martha,  in  whom  Winslow 
was  interested,  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  school ;  she 
had  all  the  airs  of  her  profession  during  school  hours, 
and  none  of  them  when  school  was  over.  Her  father 
considered  her  a  miracle  of  learning,  although  he 
never  told  her  so.  and  her  mother  considered  her  won 
derful,  and  never  ceased  telling  her  so.  Both  of  them 
thought  her  good-looking  and  a  fine  catch  for  the 
right  man,  who  was  slow  in  coming — she  was  four 
and  twenty. 

The  second  daughter,  Mabel,  was  a  stenographer  in 
the  office  of  the  mills.  She  was  the  chief  worry  of 
the  family  and  naturally  the  favorite.  "  Out  of  a 
possible  ten  good  points,"  said  the  father,  "  Mabel  has 
eight ;  but  the  two  missing  make  up  for  the  eight 
there."  The  mother — who  was  for  the  plain  truth, 


136  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

detesting  fine  language — openly  declared  that  Mabel 
was  flighty ;  in  strict  confidence  and  unwillingly 
she  would  acknowledge  that  Mabel  was  inclined  to 
flirt. 

Benjamin,  the  eldest  son,  was  an  inspector  in  the 
plate-mill ;  he  knew  his  business ;  he  was  steady,  ex 
citable,  easy  to  arouse,  although  as  a  rule  he  had  little 
to  say.  "  My  boy  Ben,"  said  Judson,  "  has  little  to 
say,  so  if  he  has  brains  you  wouldn't  know  it,  and  if 
he  hasn't  you  couldn't  find  it  out ;  and  I  don't  know 
but  in  the  long  run  and  for  the  most  people  Ben's  plan 
is  the  best."  The  constant  noise  and  rattle  of  the 
plates  had  made  Benjamin  slightly  deaf  and  his  deaf 
ness  had  made  him  overly  sensitive. 

The  youngest  son,  Levi,  and  the  two  youngest 
daughters,  Susan  and  Dora,  completed  the  family. 
Judson  himself  was  fond  of  remarking  that  he  was 
glad  the  family  ended  with  Susan,  otherwise  there 
would  have  been  no  telling  how  indefinitely  it  would 
have  gone  on. 

The  home  of  the  Judsons,  a  plain  brick  house  rented 
from  the  Company,  was  in  L  street  in  the  best  quar 
ter  of  Marvin,  which  is  saying  very  little  for  the  other 
three-quarters  or  for  the  fourth  quarter  itself.  Wins- 
low  walked  thither  with  Blair  to  introduce  his  friend 
to  the  family,  and  to  allow  "  old  "  Judson  to  size  up 
his  prospective  boarder  and  to  settle  the  preliminaries. 
The  little  parlor,  with  its  ingrain  carpet,  the  cheer 
fully  blazing  coal  stove,  the  inevitable  family  por 
traits,  the  well-used  furniture,  the  clean,  cozy  atmos 
phere,  was  all  so  humanly  homelike  that  Blair  felt  a 
vague  remote  pity  for  himself  at  the  thought  of  what 
his  life  had  been  for  those  last  months ;  and  there  arose 
within  him  a  homesickness,  a  longing  for  his  old  ways 


THE  JUDSONS  137 

and  his  own  people.  He  hoped  he  might  prove  accept 
able. 

"  Well,"  said  Winslow,  trying  to  bring  matters 
to  a  head,  "  let's  get  down  to  price ;  that's  the  first 
thing,"  and  the  Englishman  settled  back  in  his  chair, 
twiddling  his  Masonic  watch-charm. 

Judson  puffed  at  his  long-stemmed  pipe,  rubbed  his 
triangular  nose,  lifted  his  clerical  glasses  on  his  fore 
head  and  passed  his  hand  over  his  smooth  bald  crown 
(he  was  an  extremely  restless,  nervous  man),  and  re 
marked  :  "  It's  a  new  business  to  me.  I'll  have  to  ask 
the  old  woman  about  it."  He  called  up  the  stairs  to 
his  wife  and  she  came  down  in  a  blue  wrapper  that 
was  in  violent  contrast  to  the  scarlet  of  her  face, 

"  You're  old  enough  to  know  your  own  mind,  pa 
Judson,"  she  said  on  being  consulted,  pleased,  despite 
her  angry  tone,  that  her  opinion  had  been  sought. 

"  Knowing  your  own  mind  isn't  a  question  of  how 
long  you  have  lived  with  it,  I  find,"  retorted  Judson, 
"  some  know  it  at  eight,  others  don't  know  it  at 
eighty.  My  old  teacher  at  home  used  to  say,  '  One- 
third  of  you  children  leave  your  minds  at  home,  an 
other  third  has  no  mind  to  leave  at  home  or  take  here, 
and  the  rest  of  you  don't  use  your  minds  when  you 
get  here.  What  in  the  world  can  I  do  with  such  a 
class?'" 

"  Just  like  you,"  scolded  his  wife,  laughingly, 
"  always  giving  evasive  answers.  I'll  suppose  we'll 
have  to  call  in  Martha ;  it  always  ends  that  way." 

"  Because  you  want  to  show  Martha  off  to  every 
available  young  man." 

"  Don't  believe  him,"  she  said,  turning  to  Blair  and 
Winslow. 

"  I  don't,"  laughed  Blair. 


138  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  I  do,"  laughed  Winslow. 

Judson  joined  in  the  laugh  with  his  hearty  peal; 
and  his  wife  took  advantage  of  the  prevailing  good 
nature  to  call  her  daughter.  Martha  entered  the  par 
lor,  with  a  dignified  and  by  no  means  stiff  carriage. 
Blair  arose  and  she  acknowledged  Winslow 's  intro 
duction  to  the  stranger  with  a  pleasant  smile  and  an 
extended  hand. 

"  The  new  boarder/'  were  her  first  words. 

"  Willing  to  be,"  was  Blair's  answer. 

"  It  all  depends  on  you,  Marthy,"  said  Judson, 
"  your  ma  hasn't  any  mind  of  her  own.  She  reminds 
me  of  old  lady  Clark  who  used  to  live  in  our  old 
town  down  East  (I  was  born  in  Vermont),  whenever 
anybody  asked  her  anything  she  used  to  say,  '  Well, 
I'll  ask  my  daughter  Mary  and  see  what  she  thinks.' 
Mary  died  about  the  time  the  old  lady  needed  her 
most,  and  people  said  old  lady  Clark  had  lost  her 
mind  and  they  wanted  to  send  her  to  the  insane  asy 
lum.  Yes,  sir,  that's  a  fact,"  and  Judson  chuckled  and 
rubbed  his  bald  head.  His  triangular  nose  looked  up 
humorously  as  if  it  understood  the  joke. 

"  But  I  don't  need  any  mind  with  such  a  smart  per 
son  as  your  pa  around,  Marthy,"  put  in  the  mother. 

The  laugh  was  on  Judson  this  time  and  he  rubbed 
his  bald  head  in  high  glee,  appreciating  his  wife's  apt 
ness  even  beyond  the  others. 

"  So  your  ma  not  needing  any,  and  your  pa  not 
having  any,  we  called  you  in,  Marthy,"  said  Jud 
son,  restored  to  sobriety. 

"  And  I  stand  just  between  you  two,"  smiled  Mar 
tha,  complacently,  "  with  just  half  a  mind.'' 

Blair  was  cudgeling  his  brains  for  the  right  word 
to  slip  in  at  this  easy  jucture;  every  word  but  the 


THE  JUDSONS  139 

right  one  came,  and  he  sat  in  silence,  wondering  if 
his  long  isolation  had  unfitted  him  for  the  company 
of  the  intelligent.  He  was  eying  the  young  woman 
intently,  their  glances  met,  hers  divining  in  the  way 
that  is  feminine,  his  examining,  penetrating,  in  the 
way  that  is  masculine ;  and  Blair,  blushing  like  a 
swain,  twiddled  the  chair  tassel  and  looked  at  it  as 
if  it  were  the  first  article  of  this  nature  that  his  hand 
had  ever  held. 

He  was  impressed  by  Martha,  as  well  he  might  have 
been,  for  she  would  have  impressed  any  man  in  any 
crowd  of  women.  Her  hair  black,  live  and  glossy 
(one  noticed  Martha's  hair  before  her  face — it  over 
shadowed  her  face  so)  was  combed  smooth  on  her 
broad  head,  curled  and  gathered  in  a  long  heavy  braid 
in  the  back ;  a  white  line,  running  to  her  low  forehead, 
parted  it  in  the  middle.  A  nose,  prominent,  slightly 
hooked,  spoiled  the  symmetry  of  her  face,  robbed  it 
of  prettiness ;  but  it  lent  her  countenance  strength  and 
force  of  character.  She  was  tall,  thin-waisted,  high- 
chested,  with  bosom  well  rounded. 

"  He  looks  as  if  he  might  be  way  above  the  average 
mill  hand,"  she  thought  of  Blair,  "  but  he  doesn't  act 
it." 

The  bargain  was  settled  easily  enough,  and  the 
young  lady  arose  to  go  with,  "  I  presume  I  shan't  be 
needed  any  longer." 

"  You  presume  too  much,"  said  Blair,  "  you  were 
not  thrown  in  to  conclude  the  bargain." 

"  Thank  you,"  she  answered,  "  but  I  was  dragged 
into  it ;  "  and  to  herself,  "  I  didn't  expect  that  of  him." 

"  Winslow  here  tells  me  that  you  teach  school," 
went  on  Blair,  anxious  to  start  a  conversation  that 
might  lead  somewhere. 


HO  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  I'm  sorry  he  divulged  that." 

"  Why?     It's  surely  no  disgrace." 

"  No,  but  most  people  are  prejudiced  against  the 
'  ma'ams.' ' 

'  That  ought  to  depend  upon  the  experience  they 
have  had  with  the  profession,  Miss  Judson." 

44  I  hope  your  experience  has  been  pleasant,  Mr. 
Carrhart." 

44  It  has,"  he  answered. 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said. 

She  remained  quiet,  her  hands  folded  in  her  lap; 
against  the  deep  black  of  her  gown  they  stood  out 
white,  bold  and  virile.  Blair  watched  them  as  he  had 
her  face;  the  hand  had  ever  bem  a  close  study  for  his 
inquisitive  observation. 

'  There  is  a  good  deal  to  him,"  she  was  thinking, 
her  long  lashes  drooping,  her  eyes  bent  downwards, 
<4  more  than  one  would  suppose  at  first." 

Through  Blair's  mind  ran  the  thought,  "  A  strong 
character,  resolute,  firm,  stubborn,  hard  to  mold." 

Their  acquaintanceship  was  beginning  well ;  they 
were  already  interested  in  each  other. 

"  Are  you  a  believer  in  palmistry  ?  "  She  looked 
up  suddenly. 

"Not  in  the  least.     Why?''  he  asked. 

"  I  thought  you  might  be,  that's  all." 

He  blushed,  knowing  he  had  been  detected ;  and 
she  sat  there  in  quiet,  not  moving  a  muscle,  enjoying 
her  advantage,  but  not  in  any  way  showing  that  she 
had  one  to  enjoy. 

Judson,  his  wife  and  Winslow  were  talking  to 
gether  in  low  tones ;  Blair  thought  he  heard  his  name 
mentioned  once  or  twice.  The  other  members  of  the 
family  came  in :  Mabel  first,  blond,  inclined  to  the 


THE  JUDSONS  141 

adipose,  like  her  mother.  Her  smiling  face  disclosed 
full  red  lips  and  an  even  row  of  white  teeth.  She 
wished  to  give  the  impression  that  she  was  a  woman 
of  the  world  and  used  to  being  introduced ;  as  a  re 
sult  she  stumbled  and  stammered,  appearing  as  if  she 
were  not  used  to  it  at  all;  but  her  confusion  added 
only  to  her  good  looks,  coloring  her  cheeks  prettily. 
Had  Mabel  but  known  this  she  would  have  practised 
the  art  of  appearing  confused. 

Benjamin  came  in  next,  long  and  lank  like  his 
father,  with  the  same  peculiar  nose,  projecting  sharply 
from  the  face,  shaped  like  a  triangle.  He  put  his 
hand  to  his  ear  and  said,  "  How  ?  A  little  louder, 
please/'  at  Blair's  repeated  attempts  at  conversation. 

"  He  doesn't  hear  well,"  explained  the  mother, 
"  but  he  usually  hears  better  when  he's  away  from  the 
plate-mill  for  a  few  hours." 

Blair  nodded,  absently,  falling  into  a  brown  study 
of  the  young  man;  he  ceased  it  quickly  enough,  jump 
ing  to  the  incorrect  conclusion  that  to  know  the  father 
was  to  know  the  son. 

Levi,  the  youngest  male  member,  and  the  two  small 
girls,  Susan  and  Dora,  entered  last,  bounding  down 
the  stairs  at  a  call  from  the  mother.  The  boy  made 
straightway  for  Mrs.  Judson's  lap,  trying  to  attract 
the  stranger's  attention  by  a  series  of  circus  antics, 
which  won  the  mother's  reproval  and  laughter  in  the 
same  breath.  The  little  girls,  neat  in  fresh  pinafores, 
nestled  up  to  the  father,  and  he  patted  their  tow  heads 
affectionately,  talking  to  Winslow  the  while. 

"  Now  you've  got  us  all  together,"  remarked  Jud- 
son,  turning  to  Blair,  suddenly  recalling  him  to  mind 
and  fearing  that  he  might  feel  slighted,  "  and  you'd 
better  take  a  good  look,  for  you  can't  tell  when  it  will 


142  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

happen  again ;  for  at  least  one  of  the  girls  is  usu 
ally  out,  not  counting  Ben's  turn  in  the  night 
shift." 

Mabel  giggled,  Martha  did  not  even  look  up ;  Blair 
knew  where  the  arrow  struck. 

4  There's  a  keen  competition  out  here  in  Marvin," 
went  on  Judson,  after  a  bit,  "  between  the  homes  and 
the  saloons.  When  I  pass  the  long  row  of  'em  on  D 
street,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  saloons  are  get 
ting  the  best  of  it.  It's  the  wives'  fault,  you  can  take 
my  word  for  it." 

"  It's  never  the  husbands'  fault ;  oh,  no,  of  course 
not,"  and  Mrs.  Judson  laid  a  sarcastic  emphasis  on 
the  "  oh." 

"  Pa  and  ma  are  arguing  again,  I  guess  I'll  go 
out,"  said  Mabel,  turning  the  joke,  usually  turned 
against  her,  against  the  family. 

"  You  don't  even  wait  until  we  start,  Mabel,  as  a 
rule,"  puffed  out  Judson. 

"  Besides,"  interjected  the  mother,  "  you  needn't  go 
on  your  pa's  account — you  know  that  I  always  get 
beat" 

Judson  chuckled — he  was  proud  of  his  powers  of 
argumentation,  prouder  than  of  anything  else.  Mar 
tha  preserved  her  reserve,  cold  and  silent,  looking 
neither  disapproving  nor  approving,  not  as  if  she 
considered  this  bandying  of  words  either  trivial  or 
enlivening ;  but  as  if  she  were  quite  apart  from  it,  as 
if  she  heard  no  word  of  it. 

Levi  had  again  climbed  on  his  mother's  stout  shoul 
ders,  and,  in  an  attempt  to  balance  himself  there,  he 
fell  prone  into  her  lap.  Mabel  grinned — Mabel's  grin 
was  ever  ready  to  fill  out  any  embarrassing  pause  in 
the  conversation.  The  two  younger  girls  were  trying 


THE  JUDSONS  143 

to  slip  their  hands  into  their  father's  capacious  pockets 
in  a  search  for  elusive  pennies.  Judson  and  Winslow 
were  conversing,  undisturbed  by  these  minor  distrac 
tions  ;  Blair  would  fain  have  listened,  but  he  consid 
ered  it  the  part  of  politeness  to  pay  some  small  atten 
tion  to  the  ladies.  He  addressed  a  ready-made  ques 
tion  or  two  to  Martha  concerning  her  work.  Her  an 
swers  were  curt.  Blair  was  about  to  shift  the  conver 
sation  in  what  he  thought  might  prove  a  more  pleasing 
direction,  when  Mabel  burst  in : 

"  Martha  lets  on  that  it's  a  disgrace  to  teach  school ; 
but  I  don't  think  that  she  really  means  it.  Why 
should  she?  I'm  sure  that  I'm  not  ashamed  of  my 
work  and  I'm  not  nearly  so  well  paid." 

"  I've  often  said,  Mabel,"  replied  Martha,  calmly, 
"  that  I'm  not  ashamed  of  the  work;  I'm  merely  tired 
of  it.  I  like  to  leave  the  school  behind  me  when  I 
hang  the  keys  in  the  office." 

"  You're  very  peculiar,  Martha,  now 

"  I  dare  say,"  interrupted  Martha,  with  a  bored  air. 

Blair  turned  towards  Benjamin,  hoping  to  escape 
from  the  contention  over  this  bone.  '"'  You  work  in 
the  plate-mill ;  inspector,  I  believe  ?  " 

Blair  repeated  his  question,  wishing  that  he  had 
remained  where  he  was ;  between  the  bickering  sisters 
and  the  deaf  brother  he  preferred  the  former — the 
evil  was  the  lesser. 

"  Yes,  I  work  there.  Have  to  go  over  the  plates 
before  they  go  out — every  inch — top  and  bottom. 
Ever  been  in  our  department  ?  " 

Blair  nodded  affirmatively.     Martha   arose. 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me,  I  shall  be  going ;  my  work 
always  begins  and  never  ends,  you  know.  I  have  an 
almost  countless  number  of  papers  to  correct,"  she 


i44  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

said,  with  what  Blair  thought  a  tinge  of  cynical  bitter 
ness. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  are  going  to  leave  so  soon/'  he 
remarked,  rising. 

"  You  ought  not  to  be,  for  I  fear  that  I  haven't  been 
overly  pleasant  to-night,  but  then  as  you  are  to  be 
here  a  long  while  I  shall  have  plenty  of  opportunity 
to  redeem  myself,  I  take  it." 

"  And  as  I  know,"  put  in  Blair,  "  that  you  can  be 
very  pleasant  I  hope  that  you  will  take  advantage  of 
your  opportunities." 

She  curtesied,  her  eyes  opening  wide,  and  left  the 
room.  Susan,  Dora  and  Levi  bounded  away  with  her. 

"  I  say,"  grinned  Mabel,  '*  you  are  a  good  one,  that 
was  just  the  right  answer.  Martha  likes  to  be  talked 
to  in  that  way,  only  not  every  one  is  smart  enough  to 
do  it." 

Blair  smiled  his  acknowledgment.  "  I  thought 
just  that,"  he  said  to  himself. 

Mabel  chattered  away  on  an  endless  mass  of  topics 
in  which  her  auditor  found  neither  interest  nor  amuse 
ment.  He  was  thinking  of  Martha  and  her  peculiar 
conduct. 

Winslow  was  starting  to  take  his  leave,  with, 
"  Have  to  be  moving — it's  getting  late.  Well,  I  leave 
you  in  good  hands,  Carrhart;  Judson  will  keep  you 
straight." 

"  Don't  hurry,  don't  hurry,"  repeated  Judson,  "  have 
another  pipe  before  you  go.  It  will  be  a  month  before 
you  come  again  "  (Winslow  called  every  night),  "  and 
I've  got  something  important  to  say — I  haven't  even 
touched  it  yet." 

Mabel  left  the  room  in  what  the  dramatist  might 
call  an  ineffective  exit.  Winslow  reseated  himself. 


THE  JUDSONS  145 

Judson  lifted  his  clerical  glasses  and  rubbed  his 
bald  head,  "  I  tell  you,  boys,  there's  going  to  be  trou 
ble  in  the  mills." 

"Why?"  asked  Winslow,  "  what's  in  the  wind?" 

"  It  ain't  so  much  in  the  wind  as  the  wind  itself.  I 
know  old  Henry  Marvin  like  a  book.  I  was  born  in 
the  same  town ;  we  were  schoolmates — chums,  I  might 
say,  he  and  I"  (Judson  was  always  proud  of  his  friend 
ship  with  the  great  capitalist)  ;  "  and  I  can  tell  by  his 
manner  that  something  is  up.  He  came  into  my  pri 
vate  office  the  other  day  and  sat  down  beside  my  draw 
ing-board  and  he  began  to  tell  me  about  his  love  for 
humanity  and  how  much  he  wanted  to  do  for  the 
world.  I  always  expect  a  cut  in  wages  about  that 
time.  You  fellows  have  been  squabbling  over  the 
scales,  haven't  you?  " 

"  We  have  had  three  or  four  consultations  already," 
said  Winslow,  "  and  we're  further  off  than  ever. 
We've  been  fighting  like  Turks  for  our  rights.  And 
that  old  " — Winslow,  looking  at  Mrs.  Judson,  sup 
pressed  an  oath — "  fox  wants  to  cut  us  to  pieces.  He 
wants  to  cut  our  wages  down  to  the  size  of  his 
heart." 

Ben  Judson's  dark  face  lowered  and  he  frowned  an 
grily,  the  thick  black  hair  that  ran  down  on  his  low 
forehead  almost  touching  the  bridge  of  his  nose. 
"  It's  an  outrage,"  he  cried,  "  the  way  things  are  run 
ning  in  the  mill  to-day,  and  we  can't  stand  for  any 
more,  and  by  God  we  won't!  If  they  are  trying  to 
force  us  to  starvation  the  sooner  we  strike  and  the 
harder  the  better." 

"  Hush,  Ben,"  said  the  mother. 

"  Ben's  young,"  philosophized  the  father,  "  and 
being  young  his  head  is  hot.  When  he  gets  my  age 


146  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

he'll  see  that  there  are  two  sides  to  every  question,  and 
he'll  be  willing  to  acknowledge  that  capital  has  rights 
on  this  earth  as  well  as  labor.  As  for  strikes  sepa 
rately  considered  they  may  be  all  right,  now  and  then  ; 
but  take  them  in  the  long  run  and  they're  like  war — 
strikes  are  hell." 

Ben's  dark  face  lowered  and  darkened  again.  "  I 
tell  you,  dad,  it's  all  right  for  you  to  talk  that  way, 
you  being  up  in  the  office  all  day  and  not  seeing  what's 
going  on,  but  if  you  were  outside  for  a  while  and  saw 
the  abuse  and  the  injustice  there,  you'd  climb  over  the 
fence  and  do  your  whistling  on  the  labor  side." 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you,  Ben,"  answered  the  old  man, 
coolly,  "I'm  not  for  denying  that  there's  a  heap  of 
truth  in  what  you've  been  grumbling  about  for  the 
last  year;  but  I've  danced  around  the  edge  of  the 
Lord's  green  footstool  for  the  last  forty-five  years,  and 
I  never  saw  the  day  when  capital  didn't  want  to  keep 
what  it  has,  and  labor  didn't  want  to  grab  what  capital 
kept.  My  view  is  not  to  blame  either — it's  human 
nature;  and  when  you  fire  human  nature  out  of  the 
door,  the  millennium  will  climb  through  the  window 
without  a  boost  from  the  preachers ;  and  until  that 
day  comes  I  believe  in  making  allowances  for  both 
sides." 

"  It's  all  right  for  you  to  talk  that  way,  dad,"  cut  in 
Ben,  his  small  gray  eyes  twinkling  savagely ;  "  you  are 
paid  well  and  your  wages  come  regularly  no  matter 
what  happens,  but  there  are  hosts  of  men  in  the  mill 
working  like  horses  and  starving  like  dogs,  and  it  isn't 
right  and  it  has  to  quit." 

'  That's  true,"  vociferated  Winslow,  "  every  word 
of  it." 

Blair  was  too  interested  in  Judson's  mild  philosophy 


THE  JUDSONS  147 

and  his  son's  vehement  denunciation  to  wish  to  inter 
rupt  either  by  taking  a  hand  in  the  dispute. 

"  Well,"  smiled  old  Judson,  the  end  of  his  triangu 
lar  nose  projecting  humorously,  "  you  see  there  have 
always  been  poor  men  and  there  always  will  be ;  you 
can't  blame  the  rich  man  for  wanting  to  stay  rich,  and 
you  can't  blame  the  poor  man  for  wanting  to  exchange 
jobs." 

"  You're  begging  the  question,"  said  Ben,  hotly. 

"  I  know  I  am,"  answered  Judson,  "  but  I  want  to 
get  back  to  what  I  started  to  say.  This  arguing  is  all 
a  waste  of  breath;  it  reminds  me  of  an  engine  puffing 
down  the  tracks  without  pulling  any  cars,  just  a  waste 
of  good  steam  and  nothing  accomplished." 

"  That's  the  way  you  always  get  out  of  it,';  retorted 
the  son,  punching  his  right  fist  into  his  left  palm. 

Smilingly  Judson  disregarded  his  accusation,  and 
went  on:  "I  started  to  say  that  it  was  just  before  the 
scales  were  settled  last  year  that  old  Marvin  gave  me 
his  long  speech  about  his  love  for  his  fellow-man  and 
you  know  what  he  did  to  wages,  eh  ?  " 

"  I  should  say  I  do  remember,"  shouted  Ben;  "  I've 
been  paying  mother  three  dollars  a  week  less  board 
ever  since." 

"  But  I  got  the  best  of  old  Henry  to-day,"  continued 
Judson,  undisturbed,  "  in  fine  fashion.  '  You  know, 
Judson,'  said  he,  '  that  the  responsibilities  of  wealth  are 
something  terrible.  Men  in  your  condition,  Judson, 
don't  appreciate  what  a  load  we  have  to  carry !  ' 
'  Well,  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Marvin,'  said  I,  '  I  can  help  you 
a  bit  right  now ;  if  you  raise  my  salary  five  dollars  a 
week,  part  of  the  load  will  be  gone  and  your  burden 
will  be  that  much  less.'  He  hemmed  and  hawed  and 
he  gave  me  the  raise ;  there  was  no  way  out  of  it.  Oh, 


i4B  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

I  know  him  like  a  book.  It's  all  in  studying  his 
humor.  He  comes  in  to  pass  the  time  of  the  day  with 
me  every  once  in  a  long  while  and  to  talk  over  old 
times.  Stays  a  long  while  for  him,  too,  much  as  five 
minutes  when  he  isn't  too  busy.  He  isn't  the  worst 
man  in  the  world  either,  you  can  all  say  what  you 
want ;  he's  always  treated  me  right  and  square." 

"  The  old—  '  muttered  Ben ;  "  the  double-faced 
hypocrite." 

"  A  double-faced  man,"  interposed  Judson  mildly, 

"  runs    twice    the  chance  of    being  hit    on  one    side : 

?> 

"  I  am  glad  you  had  enough  spunk,  pa  Judson,"  in 
terrupted  his  wife,  "  to  ask  for  your  just  dues  once. 
What's  five  dollars  a  week  more?  Why,  you've  made 
inventions  in  that  mill  that  have  made  fortunes  for  the 
Company.  You've  been  foolish,  I've  told  you  so  right 
along,  you  ought  to  have  kept  the  patents." 

"  If  I  listened  to  her,"  said  Judson,  relighting  his 
pipe,  "  I'd  own  the  mills — they'd  belong  to  me,  ground 
and  all.  I  suppose  there  ain't  a  wife  in  Marvin  that 
don't  think  that  if  her  husband  quit  the  mills  would 
quit.  If  men  had  what  their  wives  thought  was  com 
ing  to  them,  half  of  us  would  be  in  jail  and  the  other 
half  of  us  would  be  millionaires.  I'm  lucky  in  my 
wife,  you  see.  But  I've  explained  to  her  a  thousand 
times  that  I  draw  twenty  dollars  a  week — or  I  did 
draw  that  much  until  to-day — whether  I  do  anything 
or  not,  and  that  often  I've  worked  a  whole  year  with 
out  doing  anything  that  was  worth  one  cent  to  the 
Company." 

"  I  suppose  if  you  were  to  find  a  gold  mine  under 
our  house  during  the  week  that  would  go  to  the  Com 
pany,  too,"  flashed  Ben. 


THE  JUDSONS  149 

"  I  suppose,"  answered  Judson,  unruffled. 

"  You  haven't  got  any  business  head,  pa  Judson/' 
scolded  his  wife,  gently,  "  I've  always  said  so ;  and 
that's  just  where  the  whole  trouble  is." 

"  Well,"  smiled  Judson,  "  I'll  admit  that,  but  it  isn't 
my  fault ;  when  the  Lord  made  inventors  He  figured 
out  that  if  He  devoted  half  of  their  head  to  business 
capacity,  the  other  half  wouldn't  be  worth  much  for 
inventions,  so  He  left  the  business  arrangement  out; 
and  that's  fair." 

"  I'll  drop  in  soon,''  said  Winslow,  rising,  "  and  let 
you  show  me  your  invention  for  automatic  carriers  in 
the  rail-mill.  I'll  have  to  go  now." 

"  I'll  be  glad  to  do  it,"  offered  Judson,  "but  it's  a 
rather  complicated  sort  of  a  thing  and  it  will  be  hard 
to  explain." 

"  You  might  just  as  well  let  that  rail-mill  stand  as 
it  is  for  all  the  good  that  it  will  do  you,"  carped  his 
wife. 

"  And  a  great  deal  better,"  was  Ben's  acrid  com 
ment  ;  it  will  throw  hundreds  of  men  out  of  work  and 
do  dad  no  good.  I'm  tempted  to  tear  the  designs  to 
pieces  every  time  my  eyes  rest  on  'em." 

"That's  all  child's  talk,  Ben,"  protested  Judson, 
piqued  for  the  first  time,  "  I've  explained  it  often 
enough." 

Winslow  left;  Judson  showed  Blair  to  his  room. 

Blair  lay  awake;  his  active  thought  stood  strict 
guard  and  would  not  let  sleep  elude  its  vigilance.  The 
Judson  family  was  a  whole  mine,  rich  with  the  pure 
gold  of  original  character — the  gold  of  all  earthly 
golds  whatsoever  that  delighted  Blair  most,  and  his 
heart  was  rejoiced  over  his  lucky  discovery.  He  passed 
them  all  in  review  again  and  again,  until  from  the 


150  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

passing  and  repassing,  the  short  procession  seemed 
an  endless  pageant — old  Judson,  who  delivered  him 
self  in  a  steady  stream  of  maxims ;  Ben,  strong  and 
determined ;  Mrs.  Judson,  scolding  and  good-natured ; 
the  flock  of  children ;  Mabel,  frivolous  and  light  of 
heart;  and  Martha,  strange  and  difficult. 

"  Strange  and  difficult,"  he  repeated  to  himself,  and 
yet  neither  these  adjectives  nor  any  other  that  Blair 
could  find  would  serve'  as  a  descriptive  tag  wherewith 
he  might  dismiss  his  concept  of  Martha.  She  escaped 
analysis.  She  lured  him  on  and  on ;  and  when  he 
thought  he  had  the  mystery  of  her  character  unriddled, 
naught  but  the  riddle  of  the  mystery  remained" to  baffle 
him.  The  gold  of  her  character  did  not  shine  on  the 
shifting  sands  of  its  surface.  He  who  would  know 
Martha,  thought  Blair,  must  dig  deep  and  long. 

Gradually  the  procession  of  faces  grew  dim  and 
faint,  and  Martha  alone  shone  out  clean  of  cut,  strong 
of  profile.  There  was  that  in  her — and  Blair  himself 
knew  not  what — which  touched  him  deeply  and  more 
than  ruffled  the  surface  of  his  sympathies ;  for  there 
was  that  in  Blair  which  leaped  responsive  to  any  su 
periority  he  met  amid  poverty :  a  magnificent  woman 
of  the  people,  though  clad  in  rags,  was  sure  to  appeal 
more  strongly  to  him  than  a  girl  of  the  fortunate,  clad 
in  silks;  nay,  the  silks,  strangely  and  oddly  enough, 
were  an  objectionable  garb  that  hid  the  value  of  the 
soul  it  covered ;  the  rags  were  a  thin  veiling  through 
which  the  great  soul  could  be  easily  descried. 

Martha,  dissatisfied,  evidently  unhappy,  out  of  rap 
port  with  her  surroundings,  came  up  for  compari 
son  with  Evangeline,  demure  and  struggling,  whose 
wealth  made  an  easy  path  for  opportunity  to  walk  to 
achievement,  and  Blair  could  not  help  but  wonder  what 


THE  JUDSONS  151 

the  outcome  of  these  two  souls  would  have  been,  were 
their  outward  and  worldly  circumstances  reversed. 

He  fell  into  a  light  sleep,  dreaming  that  Evangeline 
held  her  hand  out  to  him  in  the  distance,  pleadingly, 
supplicatingly,  as  if  she  feared  to  sink  in  the  swirling, 
tempestuous  waters  of  life  without  his  assistance  and 
the  support  of  his  stronger  arm,  and  that  Martha  stood 
at  his  side  to  help  him  battle  for  the  survival  of  his 
ideals  against  those  very  waters 'away  from  which 
Evangeline  crouched  in  fear. 


XV 
IN  THE  RAIL-MILL 

BLAIR  worked  his  way  to  the  rail-mill  with 
the  same  rapidity  that  marked  his  course 
from  the  blast-furnaces  to  the  open-hearth. 
His  swift  unprecedented  advance  was  the  talk  and 
wonder  of  the  mills.  His  acquaintanceship  and  influ 
ence — always  the  paramount  issue  with  Blair — in 
creased  with  the  knowledge  and  versatility  he  gained 
from  each  advance ;  he  left  old  friends  in  the  old  places 
and  gained  new  friends  in  the  new.  The  unexpected 
happened,  and  unexpectedly  Blair  found  himself  the 
demigod  of  the  mills.  His  apotheosis  was  due  to  al 
most  a  miracle. 

When  Blair  entered  the  rail-mill,  Judson's  new  in 
vention  had  not  been  installed  and  the  larger  part  of 
the  work  was  still  done  by  hand.  He  had  not  worked 
there  a  month  before  the  men  who  carried  the  huge 
many-tonned  ingots  on  large  prongs,  attached  to 
tracks  overhead,  were  superseded  by  Judson's  auto 
matic  carriers.  Over  one  hundred  men  were  thrown 
out  of  employment,  another  hundred  were  reduced  to 
lower  work  at  lower  wages ;  and  the  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  whose  jobs  were  not  disturbed  by  the  inno 
vation  found  that  their  salaries  were.  It  was  during 
the  same  month  that  Judson's  automatic  machinery  was 
placed  in  the  cast-houses ;  and  it  leaked  out  that  his 


IN  THE  RAIL-MILL  153 

ore-lifters  were  to  oust  the  unloading  gangs  on  the 
ore  docks.  The  name  of  Judson  was  one  wherewith 
to  curse.  Rife  discontent  waxed  to  belligerent  hatred. 
Iron  was  crushing  out  muscle;  flesh  groaned  and 
growled;  everything  pointed  to  a  pitched  battle  for 
existence  between  man  and  machinery. 

It  was  Blair's  first  duty  to  work  the  levers  that 
opened  and  shut  the  sliding  doors  of  the  gas  pits  to 
allow  the  ingress  and  egress  of  the  massive  steel  ingots. 
The  job  was  hot  to  torture  and  wearing  to  enervation, 
ever  hotter  and  more  v/earing  when  the  doors  opened 
and  the  crimson  bellowing  flames  rolled  roofward,  or 
when  the  wind  was  wrong  and  the  fire  surged  in  one's 
face. 

His  next  promotion  placed  him  on  one  of  the  elevat 
ed  platforms  to  take  charge  of  the  levers  that  control 
the  movement  of  the  leviathian  rolls.  A  long  black 
screen  shielded  his  face  from  the  storm  of  heat 
and  the  squirming  shower  of  big  sparks  tossed  up  by 
the  ingots  as  they  were  being  crushed  into  shape. 
Standing  there  on  his  point  of  vantage,  tugging  man 
fully  at  his  levers  to  keep  the  rolls  open,  with  ear  ever 
attuned  to  the  signals  from  the  blowing  whistles,  with 
eye  ever  ready  to  see  that  the  rails  were  in  condition 
to  pass  on  to  the  next  series  of  rolls — eye,  ear,  every 
muscle  and  tendon  alert,  it  seemed  to  Blair  that  his 
was  the  guiding  and  controlling  spirit  of  all  the  mech 
anism  whirling  within  that  far-stretching  hall. 

His  imagination  was  as  busy  as  his  two  hands,  and 
during  the  long  day  and  through  the  more  strenuous 
nights,  the  marvelous,  ponderous  machinery  took  on 
every  shape  that  his  excited  fancy  could  conjure  up. 
At  times  it  was  his  to  do  with  as  he  liked ;  he  held  it  all 
in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  It  became  a  huge  iron  horse 


154  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

that  was  guided  by  his  rein,  directed  by  his  command 
ing  voice ;  again,  and  more  often,  it  was  unwieldy,  in 
domitable,  insuperable,  threatening  to  revolt  and  anni 
hilate  him  and  every  human  being  that  was  arrayed 
there  with  him.  More  often  still  he  envisaged  it  as 
his  enemy  and  the  people's — the  embodiment  of  the 
century's  struggle  between  man  on  the  one  side  and 
machinery  on  the  other. 

He  recalled  the  aspect  of  the  rail-mill  a  month  ago, 
when  the  army  of  men,  bare  to  the  waist,  were  rush 
ing  to  and  fro,  discernible  everywhere,  tugging  at 
the  chains  and  prongs,  looming  up  large  and  signifi 
cant  against  the  ponderous  ingots.  Then  it  was  the 
battle  of  machinery  against  man ;  now  it  was  the 
issue  of  man  against  machinery  for  bread ;  and  so  it 
was  never  a  mere  mechanism  to  Blair,  but  something 
vital,  breathing,  almost  human. 

Above  Blair,  through  the  small  round  windows, 
ranged  between  the  corrugated  roof  and  the  black 
walls,  the  sunlight  streamed  down  in  long  straight 
lines  on  the  rolls  and  made  a  chiaroscuro  for  the  elon 
gated  carmine  rails  :  under  him  the  vast  building  quaked 
and  throbbed,  quivering  from  the  pulse-beat  of  the 
monster  fly-wheels  that  flanked  its  side,  from  the 
weight  of  the  mountain  of  cranes  and  massy  rolls, 
from  the  crash  and  thunder  of  the  rails  and  the  buzz 
of  whirling  saws. 

Ahead  of  him,  far  as  he  could  see,  a  magenta  efflor 
escence  puffed  up  Between  the  finishing  rolls,  as  the 
long  rails  hissed  their  way  through  the  narrow  press 
ing  grooves,  and  flushed  the  peculiar  dark-gray  atmos 
phere  to  a  bright  pink.  Still  farther  ahead,  past  the 
gliding1  mass  of  rails,  twisting,  writhing,  turning  in 
every  direction,  lifted  by  contrivances  that  arose  sud- 


IN  THE  RAIL-MILL          155 

denly  between  the  rolls  and  raised  the  vermilion  strips 
aloft  and  handed  them  to  the  operation  of  other  tables, 
— still  farther  ahead,  there  spread  to  the  roof  a  fusil 
lade  of  sparks,  broadening  gracefully,  like  a  peacock's 
tail,  from  the  contact  of  the  resisting  rails  with  the 
whirling  blades  of  the  steel  saws. 

Then  the  mill  fell  into  its  semi-darkness  again,  and 
the  scarlet  rails,  gliding  from  roll  to  roll,  like  pythons, 
loomed  up  luridly,  as  they  moved  on,  longer  and  more 
attenuated  with  every  pass,  their  scaly  bodies  writh 
ing  with  rage,  hissing  madly,  filling  the  building 
with  unearthly  noise,  raising  murderous  coils,  lashing 
and  curling  powerful  tails  in  an  ineffectual  rage — 
not  always  ineffectual,  however,  for  sometimes  they 
managed  to  elude  the  torturing  grooves  through  which 
they  ran  and  strike  deathblows  to  the  men  watching 
and  guiding  their  serpentine  course. 

When  Blair  stepped  down  from  his  post  at  night, 
taking  his  clothes  from  the  locker  and  preparing  for 
his  sojourn  homeward,  there  was  always  with  him,  as 
the  last  impression  of  the  day's  work,  a  baffled  sense, 
confused  and  bewildered,  as  when  he  had  entered  the 
rolling-mills  for  the  first  time,  of  the  immensity  of  the 
thing,  of  the  almost  brainlike  ingenuity  with  which  that 
huge,  tangled,  complicated  mechanism  worked  its  will. 
It  lived  with  him  so,  was  so  omnipresent,  that  he  awoke 
from  his  sleep  with  the  roar  of  its  whistles  and  the 
crunching  and  pounding  of  its  rolls  in  his  ears,  with 
the  nightmare  of  that  sea  of  machinery  rumbling  and 
rolling  together  in  a  wave,  mountain  high,  and  threat 
ening  to  crush  him  to  the  ground  bleeding  and  lifeless. 

It  was  dangerous  everywhere  and  anywhere  in  the 
rail-mill,  and  to  be  on  the  alert  and  watchful  was  to 
offer  death  and  accident  no  advantage.  On  his  way 


156  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

to  work  one  morning,  when  Blair  was  crossing  the 
slender  iron  bridge  that  ran  over  the  table  of  rolls  near 
the  saws,  he  beheld  a  familiar  face  watching  the  finish 
ing  rolls. 

"  Hello !  "  cried  Blair,  loud  above  the  pandemonium. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Carrhart,"  shouted  Paul 
Brodski,  looking  up  and  extending  a  friendly  hand. 

There  they  stood,  chatting,  recalling  the  past,  on 
that  narrow  bridge  that  spanned  the  Niagara  of  roar 
ing  machinery  beneath  it.  Blair  was  surprised  at  the 
change  that  had  come  over  his  young  friend  during 
the  short  time  of  their  separation.  Paul  had  grown 
taller  and  broader,  blossoming  quickly  towards  his  full 
blond  Polish  manhood. 

Away  down  to  the  south  of  the  building  the  man 
working  the  levers  of  the  blooming-mill,  whom  he  was 
to  relieve,  waved  his  hand  anxiously. 

"  I'll  have  to  go  now,  Paul ;  good-by.  I  hope  I'll 
see  you  soon  again.  Where  do  you  v/ork  ?  " 

"  In  the  hot-bed — greasing." 

Blair  nodded  knowingly,  not  turning  to  look  in  the 
direction  towards  which  Paul  pointed,  he  was  so  fami 
liar  with  the  work  and  the  place  that  he  could  see  it 
in  his  mind's  eye. 

The  hot-beds  were  in  the  northeast  wing  of  the 
building ;  and  in  the  core  of  that  blistering  heat  worked 
Paul  Brodski,  a  mop  tucked  to  his  blouse  to  dash  away 
the  sweat  that  poured  down  his  brow.  With  a  long 
pole  in  his  hand  he  ran  up  and  down  that  lava  bed, 
between  the  downward  sloping  tracks,  lubricating 
them  as  he  progressed.  It  was  the  mad  dance  of 
death ;  behind  him  glided  the  finished  rails.  The  py 
thons  seemed  to  come  to  life  suddenly,  as  if  this  were 
their  last  chance  to  wreak  vengeance,  and  they  rolled 


IN  THE  RAIL-MILL          157 

down  the  tracks  in  the  trail  of  their  human  enemy, 
ablaze  with  fury.  They  drew  near,  but  a  foot  separated 
them  from  the  head  of  the  fleeing  Pole,  hastening 
on  with  panting  breath.  They  darted  to  strike,  he 
bent  down  to  the  ground,  and  they  whirled  away  over 
his  head  harmlessly,  to  cool  and  await  the  drills  of  the 
machinists. 

All  this  Blair  saw  in  his  mental  vision,  as  he  waved 
his  hand  to  Paul  and  stepped  off  the  bridge  to  walk 
down  the  passageway  to  his  station.  Suddenly  a 
piercing  whistle  shrieked,  sharp  and  penetrating  above 
all  the  clatter  and  din;  the  machinery  came  to  a  halt 
with  the  sudden  marked  and  discernible  quickness 
with  which  a  marching  army  halts  at  the  word  of 
command.  Blair  sought  the  cause  of  the  trouble:  an 
ingot  had  forced  its  way  between  the  heavy  upper 
rolls  of  the  blooming-mill,  wedging  itself  there  firmly 
and  putting  an  end  to  movement.  Already  the  sailor- 
gang  was  hastening  towards  the  spot  to  remove  the 
obstacle  and  Llewellyn,  the  Welsh  engineer,  was  at 
work  on  the  refractory  roll. 

Blair  moved  nearer  to  watch  the  progress  of  events. 
Someone  had  blundered;  no  one  ever  knew  how  or 
who,  and  the  gigantic  machinery  started  with  a  plunge 
and  a  sncrt,  gathering  all  the  weight  of  its  burdening 
tonnage  for  the  first  forward  spring.  A  cry  went  up 
the  like  of  which  had  never  been  heard  there  before. 
Men  looked,  paled,  and  turned  away,  an  overmastering 
feeling  of  pity  swirling  to  their  heads.  The  engi 
neer's  arm  had  caught  between  the  rolls ;  it  was 
crunched  and  ground  like  dust ;  nothing  could  save  his 
body  from  being  drawn  in  and  meeting  the  same  fate. 
Tears  of  blood  swept  to  the  eyes  of  those  who  foresaw 
the  end  of  the  unfortunate  victim. 


158  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Blair  caught  the  situation  on  the  run,  pale,  deter 
mined,  'insane  with  the  desire  to  rescue,  all  the  thoughts 
of  the  month  swarming  to  his  brain  in  a  second,  be 
holding  the  struggle  against  the  machinery  as  actual 
which  he  had  represented  to  himself  as  mere  phan 
tasy. 

"  The  monster !  The  beast !  "  he  yelled  at  the  top 
of  his  powerful  lungs,  swelling  with  the  rage  of  pre 
monitory  combat.  He  clenched  his  fists  and,  lifting 
his  arm  aloft,  shook  it.  The  blue  vein  that  ran 
through  the  center  of  his  high  forehead  empurpled. 
He  was  going  to  attack  this  iron  host  single-handed, 
to  meet  death  or  victory;  in  the  heat  and  fire  of  the 
second,  not  minding  or  reckoning  or  caring  which : 
the  issue  was  to  be  decided  then  and  there. 

He  sprang  on  the  hot  table  of  moving  rolls,  led  by 
the  mysterious  guidance  of  a  sixth  sense,  saved  from 
the  reach  of  harm  of  the  scarlet,  red-hot  rails  gliding 
and  beating  along  the  rolls.  He  caught  Llewellyn, 
released  his  arm,  jumped  with  him  to  the  ground.  It 
was  a  miracle ;  a  performance  seemingly  against  every 
law  of  possibility  and  of  fact.  The  machinery  was 
stopped ;  the  noisy  mill  was  still. 

The  onlookers,  frightened,  horrified  by  this  con 
summation  of  the  terrible  and  the  sublime,  found 
relief  for  nerves  wound  to  a  breaking  tension  in  a  cry 
of  admiration  that  made  the  whole  building  vibrate 
as  with  the  movement  of  the  huge  engines  and  the 
crashing  rails. 

Blair  heard  it  not ;  he  was  making  a  tourniquet  with 
the  aid  of  his  handkerchief,  stanching  the  blood  of  the 
swooning  Welshman,  and  murmuring,  as  in  a  trance, 
indistinguishable  words,  commingled  of  hatred,  de 
fiance  and  victory,  against  the  monstrous  rolls. 


XVI 
THE  SHUT-DOWN 

IT  happened  as  suddenly  and  with  as  little  warn 
ing  as  the  dropping  of  a  star  from  the  sky — the 
entire  mill  was  shut  down.  Typewritten  notices 
were  placarded  throughout  the  plant,  at  the  gates,  over 
the  doors,  the  engine-houses,  the  gas-houses — every 
where;  appearing  as  mysteriously  as  if  the  agency  of 
their  source  were  psychic,  and  yet  they  were  there, 
as  visible,  as  palpable  as  the  piles  of  scrap  and  iron  in 
the  yards,  and  just  as  hard  and  grim.  No  words  were 
lost;  there  was  no  evidence  of  literary  skill  in  the  no 
tices. 

"  The  mills  will  close  to-morrow  at  six  A.M.  and 
will  not  open  until  further  notice.  By  order  of  the 
directors. 

"  HENRY  MARVIN,  President." 

The  men  read  unable  to  believe,  and  the  prepon 
derance  of  foreign  hands,  unable  to  read,  were  unwill 
ing  to  believe  the  translators.  All  afternoon  men  on 
the  way  out  and  men  on  the  way  in  gathered  in 
groups,  dinner-pails  in  hand,  overalls  red  with  iron 
rust,  faces  and  hands  besmutted  with  grime  and 
grease,  and  asked,  with  trembling  voices  and  scared 
faces,  what  it  all  meant.  Nothing  like  it  had  ever 
happened  in  the  history  of  the  iron-and-steel  industry 

159 


160  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

nothing  so  peremptory,  so  autocratic,  so  unspeakably 
daring.  Comprehension  balked  at  the  idea  of  these 
mills, — which  ground  eternally,  day  and  night,  Sun 
day  and  week-days,  fires  never  out  and  wheels  never 
still, — shutting  down.  It  was  as  if  a  day's  warning 
had  been  given  that  the  universe  was  to  come  to  an 
end.  Watchmen  moved  from  point  to  point  and  or 
dered  the  groups  to  disperse. 

The  men  gathered  again  on  the  outside  of  the  mills, 
in  the  streets,  the  saloons,  in  the  stretches  of  prairie. 
Five  thousand  men  to  be  thrown  out  of  employment 
without  one  minute's  notice.  What  did  it  mean? 
Who  knew?  Was  the  Company  bankrupt? 

Opinions,  vagarious,  ill-founded,  were  ventured 
upon  by  those  who  knew  not  the  primer  of  finance.  It 
was  a  losing  enterprise  and  to  be  abandoned,  sold 
under  the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer  for  what  it  would 
bring.  Hearts  grew  somber,  and  the  toilers  trembled 
inwardly  at  the  thought  of  the  midwinter  ruin  which 
this  abandoning  of  the  mills  would  bring  upon  the 
town  of  Marvin.  Each  foresaw  the  town  deserted, 
moldering  to  a  tumbledown  decay,  a  general  exodus 
of  the  men  afar,  a  scramble  for  employment  in  other 
cities ;  a  wild  rush,  a  mad  "  save  himself  who  can." 
Men  paled  under  the  thought  of  the  blow — the  first 
pallor  of  dumfounding  fright  which  precedes  tears 
and  prevents  them.  And  those  whose  sole  baggage 
consisted  of  wife  and  children — the  ignorant,  the  pov 
erty-stricken,  the  alien,  who  had  been  brough*  thithe'* 
by  the  Company  and  who  were  as  dependent  upon  it 
as  their  own  children  upon  themselves,  who  knew  not 
where  to  go  nor  how  to  go  where  they  knew  not,  were 
most  stricken  of  all. 

The  groups    increased    to    crowds,    the    crowds  to 


THE   SHUT-DOWN  161 

throngs,  supplemented  continually  by  the  streams  from 
the  never-ending  shifts  pouring  in  and  out  of  the  mills, 
by  the  toilers  from  the  near-by  and  far-off  barracks 
of  cottage-tenements,  who  were  impelled  by  curiosity, 
anxious  to  learn  the  news  of  such  crowd-compelling 
importance,  or  who  had  been  informed  of  the  truth. 
The  engines  still  puffed  in  and  out  of  the  trestle  work 
leading  into  the  open-hearth;  the  crackling  sound  of 
the  salt  thrown  on  the  plates,  the  rumbling  of  the 
slabs,  the  crashing  of  the  rails,  the  roar  from  the  con 
verters,  were  all  still  audible,  otherwise  the  existence 
of  the  mills  might  have  been  doubted,  and  the  be 
fogged  reasoning  of  the  astonished,  the  puzzled  and 
the  surprised  might  have  questioned  their  own  senses. 
It  was  so  ukase-like,  so  sudden,  so  impossible. 

Women,  followed  by  flocks  of  children,  joined  the 
men,  their  heads  uncovered,  their  large  red  hands 
doubled  under  dirty  aprons.  Mrs.  Brodski  came, 
dragging  Anna  and  Mary  along,  Thomas  darting- 
ahead  and  pleading  with  the  others  to  hurry.  The 
great  gathering  became  a  babble  of  various  tongues, 
Slav,  Czek,  Magyar,  Germanic,  a  polyglot  of  peculiar 
jargons  and  strongly  individualized  gesticulations. 
The  separate  nationalities  formed  separate  cliques; 
the  English-speaking  peoples  ever  by  themselves,  seg 
regated  by  speech,  by  affinity  and  the  common  feeling 
of  superiority. 

Blair  had  seen  the  notices,  pondered  over  them, 
thought  over  them  with  his  characteristic  intensity  that 
squeezed  out  the  gist  of  the  meaning  of  things,  and 
already  he  had  arrived  at  a  conclusion  as  to  the  sig 
nificance  of  the  shut-down.  It  was  late  in  the  after 
noon  when  he  moved  towards  the  restless  crowds, 
impatient  and  on  the  point  of  disbanding. 
ii 


162  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Far  in  the  west  the  sun  was  dropping  its  fiery  ball 
beneath  the  level  of  the  flat  prairies ;  the  eastern  sky 
was  already  curtained  by  the  darkness  and  the  gather 
ing  clouds  of  smoke,  blown  from  the  mills  by  the  strong 
winds.  A  golden  mist  rose  from  the  frosty  ground, 
shot  through  and  gilded  over  by  the  rays  of  the  setting 
sun.  It  all  made  a  path,  half  theatrical  and  half  dra 
matic,  for  Blair's  approach,  as  if  nature  had  conspired 
to  make  his  entrance  marked.  His  towering  frame, 
his  gigantic  physique  was  emphasized  by  the  diminu 
tive  bodies  of  some  stunted  workmen  who  straggled 
on  behind  him,  crushed  by  the  bad  news,  their  faces 
turned  towards  the  ground.  Even  the  mass  of  toilers 
seemed  to  dwindle  and  grow  smaller  as  Blair  ap 
proached. 

The  foreign  groups  noticed  him  first  and  they 
pointed  and  clucked  like  geese.  He  was  familiar  to 
most  of  them.  Hundreds  had  heard  him  speak  in  the 
socialistic  meetings ;  hundreds  more  had  received 
favors  from  his  hand  or  kindly  words  from  his  lips. 
He  had  lived  with  them,  he  moved  among  them,  he 
worked  with  them ;  in  short,  he  was  one  of  them. 
Exaggerated  tales,  exaggerated  geometrically  in  the 
telling,  of  his  prowess,  of  his  combats,  of  his  oratori 
cal  abilities,  of  his  intelligence,  of  his  unprecedented 
rise,  had  circulated  freely  from  one  end  of  the  mill  to 
the  other.  By  his  last  heroic  adventure  and  rescue 
on  the  rolls  he  had  been  transfigured,  unbeknown  to 
himself,  into  a  demigod ;  one-third  mystic,  one-third 
divine ;  the  rest  divinely  and  superbly  human.  He 
had  slowly  aroused  the  imagination  of  the  populace 
and  it  was  now  fanned  and  fired  into  popular  enthu 
siasm. 

Group  pointed  him  out  to  group  as  he  strode  along 


THE  SHUT-DOWN  163 

through  the  golden  haze  of  sunbeams  and  steaming 
mist,  the  curtain  of  darkness  at  his  back  giving  his 
figure  a  peculiarly  statuesque  grandeur  and  relief. 
He  was  the  cynosure  towards  which  the  whole  throng, 
foreign  and  Saxon,  gazed.  Three  months  of  work, 
experience  and  life  had  culminated  to  shape  him  the 
man  of  the  hour,  and  the  hour  itself  was  the  chief 
factor  in  the  conspiracy. 

"  The  big  American !  "  shouted  the  foreigners, 
many-tongued. 

"  Carrhart !  Carrhart !  "  called  the  others,  moved  to 
the  cry  by  a  unanimity,  by  a  force  which  lay  beyond 
and  outside  of  them,  and  which  they  understood  not. 

He  strode  on  nearer  and  nearer  wondering  at  this 
unexpected  acclamation  of  appreciation,  yet  prepared 
to  meet  the  issue  and  its  possibilities,  like  a  man  who 
has  not  had  greatness  thrust  upon  him. 

On  the  unbroken   prairie  two   leafless   locust  trees'' 
lifted  their  high  trunks  beside  the  railing  that  guarded 
the  grave  and  the  tombstone  of  the  first  settler  in  that 
county.     Blair  took  his   stand   there. 

They  crushed  and  crowded  around  him,  striving  to 
be  nearest  him  that  they  might  catch  the  words  of 
pregnant  advice  which  must  fall  from  his  lips.  He 
still  towered  above  them  all,  trying  to  grasp  with  the 
tentacles  of  his  intelligence,  as  it  were,  what  they 
demanded  of  him. 

He  caught  sight  of  Winslow's  figure  near  him. 

"  What  is  it  they  want  ?  "  he  asked. 

"A  speech,"  yelled  Winslow.  "  What  do  you  make 
out  of  the  shut-down  ?  " 

"  Speech !  Speech !  "  resounded  on  all  sides,  swelling 
terrifically,  rolling  in  sound  waves  over  the  prairie, 
louder  than  the  cold  sharp  wind  whistling  across  it. 


164  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Blair  drew  breath  deeply,  his  broad  chest  filled  and 
expanded ;  his  voice  carried,  high,  clear,  sonorous. 

"  Men,  you  ask  of  me  what  the  sudden  shut-down 
means  and  in  my  ignorance  I  turn  to  you  to  plead  for 
information.  As  yet  none  of  us  can  know,  and  while 
the  darkness  reigns  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  say 
little,  to  think,  and  to  wait  for  the  light.  Once  having 
learned,  we  shall  plan  deliberately  and  act  forcibly. 
This  I  can  assert  positively,  however;  if  this  action 
has  been  taken  by  the  Company  to  force  us  into  sub 
mission,  to  make  us  accept  their  own  terms  when  the 
scales  come  up  for  a  final  decision,  we  will  starve  to 
gether  before  we  submit  singly." 

"  That's  it !  "  they  cried.  "  It's  the  scales !  The 
scales !  We  will  starve  first." 

It  was  the  key  nearest  at  hand  to  the  solution  of  the 
ukase,  and,  whether  it  fitted  the  lock  or  not,  Blair  was 
the  first  to  apply  it,  and  the  credit  of  his  wisdom  was 
furthered  by  the  nimbleness  of  his  wit. 

The  cries  continued  louder;  exclamations  grew 
wilder;  the  hot-headed  and  the  hare-brained  were 
quick  to  suggest  force.  The  cold  was  forgotten,  out 
wardly  they  stood  there  shivering,  but  inwardly  the 
fires  of  hatred  and  vengeance  kept  them  warm ;  and 
they  thought  not  of  leaving.  They  were  ready  then 
and  there,  if  Blair  led,  to  march  against  the  mills  and 
destroy  them. 

From  the  long  range  of  car  tracks  that  hemmed  the 
outer  edge  of  the  prairie,  a  dozen  blue  coats  marched 
forward  abreast,  and  presented  a  solid  front  to  the 
disgruntled  crowd.  The  order  to  disperse  was  given. 

All  eyes  were  lifted  anxiously  towards  Blair:  as  he 
did  so  would  they  do.  He  obeyed  the  command  of 
the  police.  Sulkily,  gloomily,  unwillingly,  the  throng 


THE  SHUT-DOWN  165 

divided  ranks  and  broke  in  every  direction  for  homes 
widely  separated. 

In  the  offices  of  the  Company,  the  clerks,  like  the 
mill  hands,  were  thrown  into  consternation.  Hushed 
surprise  and  subdued  fear  were  regnant.  Book 
keepers,  accountants  and  cashiers  gathered  in  consult 
ing  groups  of  twos  and  threes.  An  atmosphere  of 
suspense  weighed  over  the  offices  heavy  as  the  smoke 
clouds  hanging  above  the  yards. 

The  astonishment  increased  as  one  went  upward 
from  the  lower  employees  to  the  higher,  until  the 
highest  point  was  reached,  then  it  ceased ; — the  highest 
point  held  the  key  to  the  riddle  and  dense  silence  along 
with  it. 

At  twelve  the  whistles  blew  and  the  army  of  clerks 
filed  into  the  restaurant  in  haste,  anxious  to  catch 
stray  words,  to  read  faces,  to  exchange  confidences. 

The  Company  served  luncheon  for  the  office  help 
to  save  time  and  because  the  town  of  Marvin  had  no 
suitable  eating-houses  of  its  own.  The  windows  of 
the  restaurant  looked  out  on  the  open  front  of  the 
slab-mill,  and  from  the  long  tables  the  clerks  could  see 
the  swinging  cranes  lift  the  flaming  ingots  from  the 
gas  pits  and  hear  the  gride  and  rumble  of  the  ponder 
ous  machinery. 

The  room  was  always  iron-and  steel-like  and  stern 
enough,  but  it  seemed  thrice  so  to-day,  for  the  weight 
of  an  impending  disaster  hung  threatening  in  the 
heavy  atmosphere. 

The  office  corps  looked  inquiringly  at  one  another, 
read  nothing  on  the  blank  stolid  countenances  of  their 
superiors,  and  fell  to  eating  mechanically,  their  heads 
bent  over  their  plates.  Even  the  waitresses,  in  their 
black  dresses  and  white  caps,  moved  with  steps  sedate 


1 66  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

to  somberness;  they  had  heard  the  news  from  the 
Marvin  twins,  who  were  never  happier  than  when 
they  bore  unwelcome  intelligence. 

At  every  noise  in  the  hall  there  was  a  turn  of  heads, 
almost  automatic,  to  see  if  Marvin  was  not  entering. 
Sphinx-like  as  his  face  usually  was,  his  underlings 
hoped  that  this  remarkable  transaction  had  left  a  line 
or  a  furrow  on  it  which  might  serve  as  a  slight  clue 
to  the  transaction.  But  Marvin  did  not  join  them  at 
table  that  noon. 

Hayes,  the  secretary,  a  round,  full-faced,  boyish 
looking  fellow,  with  a  sloping  under  jaw  that  betok 
ened  furtiveness,  and  Putnam  seated  themselves  at  one 
of  the  smaller  tables,  left  vacant  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  denuded  room.  They  were  closely  watched  and 
they  were  aware  of  it.  They  surmised  what  the  shut 
down  meant;  but  they  wished  to  give  the  impression 
that  they  were  in  absolute  possession  of  the  secret ; 
partly  to  uphold  the  dignity  of  their  high  offices,  part 
ly  to  make  the  others  feel  their  subaltern  inferiority. 
The  pair,  to  carry  out  the  illusion,  conversed  in 
whispers,  looking  grave  and  impassive  beyond  their 
wont.  Both  were  wondering,  if  worse  came  to  worst, 
what  they  would  do  for  a  living,,  which  was  the  one 
thought  that  absorbed  every  mind  in  that  room.  A 
cur  may  flourish  in  the  streets  where  a  well-bred  dog, 
if  turned  loose,  would  starve. 

The  twins  followed  closely  on  the  heels  of  Hayes 
and  Putnam,  overdressed  as  always,  their  trousers 
creased,  their  loud  shirts  and  high  collars  unspotted 
by  mill  dust  or  smoke,  their  sandy  red  hair  shimmer 
ing  with  pomade.  It  was  the  boast  of  the  twins  that 
they  were  the  only  two  in  the  whole  mill  that  gave  the 
place  a  tone,  and  they  maintained  that,  on  this  account 


THE  SHUT-DOWN  167 

alone,  they  were  worth  every  cent  they  were  paid. 
They  pitied  the  others  for  knowing  nothing  about 
dress — the  proper  study  of  mankind. 

Making  positive  that  their  father  would  not  be 
there,  they  launched  out  on  a  characteristic  flight  of 
insolence.  They  began  by  insulting  the  defenseless 
waitresses ;  and  then  tiring  of  the  pretended  indiffer 
ence  with  which  the  girls  met  their  fleers,  they 
opened  an  attack  on  the  clerks. 

Nothing  was  heard  but  the  pounding  of  the  thick 
slabs  as  they  passed  through  the  ponderous  rolls  and 
the  shrieking  of  the  whistles.  Every  now  and  then 
the  restaurant  was  suffused  with  the  scarlet  light  of 
an  ingot  that  one  of  the  cranes  was  carrying  through 
the  mid  air  of  the  slab-mill. 

La  Vette  entered,  late  as  usual,  serene,  smiling, 
apparently  unperturbed.  He  sat  down  between  Put 
nam  and  Hayes,  removing  his  glasses  and  rubbing  the 
bright  red  mark  they  had  indented  on  the  bridge  of 
his  nose.  He  replaced  the  glasses  and  crossed  his 
hands  on  his  fat  stomach. 

"  The  affair  don't  seem  to  disturb  yon  much," 
remarked  Putnam,  wondering  whether  it  did  or 
not. 

'''  Yes,  you  really  seem  the  only  jolly  man  in  the 
place,"  said  Hayes,  inviting  conversation. 

The  chemist  nodded,  blinking  not  unpleasantly 
through  his  glass.  "  Perhaps  you  can  tell  me  why  I 
should  be  otherwise  ?  "  And  to  the  waitress,  "  Roast- 
beef,  rare,  and  brown  potatoes." 

"  For  the  same  reason  that  about  five  thousand  other 
people  are  not.  I  shouldn't  call  it  a  pleasant  surprise 
party  exactly,"  replied  Putnam,  his  sharp  eyes,  looking 
over  his  large  glasses. 


168  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Any  idea  what's  up?  "  queried  Hayes,  with  a  face 
blank  as  the  bare  wall. 

"  Yes,"  yawned  La  Vette,  indolently,  rubbing  his 
nails  on  the  palm  of  his  hand;  "just  about  as  much 
an  idea  as  you  have." 

Putnam  twisted  in  his  seat  nervously,  pulling  at  his 
napkin,  under  the  table-cloth.  La  Vette's  remark  had 
two  horns  and  he  had  no  desire  to  grasp  either. 

Hayes  reached  out  boldly.  '  Then  you  know 
just  as  much  about  it  as  one  of  the  ingots  over 
there." 

"  Oh,  come  now,  boys,  you're  not  playing  fair. 
Bah,  this  cow  must  have  been  fed  on  coal  and  iron," 
and  La  Vette  went  on  eating  slowly,  grumbling  at 
every  mouthful  of  the  food. 

Putnam,  encouraged  by  Hayes,  seized  the  bull  by 
the  horns.  La  Vette  was  shrewd,  worldly-wise,  far- 
sighted,  and  he  had  a  habit  of  diving  down  beneath 
the  surface,  all  of  which  made  his  opinion  worth 
the  having.  "  I  suppose  there's  a  stock-deal  on 
hand?1" 

"  I  don't  suppose,"  answered  La  Vette,  softly,  "  I 
know  there  is." 

"  How  ?  "  questioned  Hayes,  with  excitement  clum 
sily  concealed. 

"  For  the  simple  reason  that  the  mills  are  shut 
down,"  replied  the  chemist,  curtly. 

"  But  that's  only  to  cut  down  our  output  and  ease 
an  oversupplied  market,"  objected  Putnam. 

"  Yes,  the  newspapers  will  print  an  interview  with 
our  president,  if  a  sharp  reporter  manages  to  find  him ; 
and  he  will  give  a  discussion  on  supply  and  demand ; 
but  you  and  T  won't  believe  it.  although  there  are  a 
great  many  children  who  will,"  replied  La  Vette. 


THE  SHUT-DOWN  169 

"  I  agree  with  you,  in  fact  I  know,  to  be  candid, 
that  it's  a  stock-deal,"  confessed  Putnam;  "but  what 
brought  you  to  the  conclusion  ?  " 

"  I  knew  it,"  yawned  La  Vette,  looking  at  his  finger 
nails,  "  over  three  days  ago.  I'll  admit  that  I  didn't 
expect  anything  like  this,  but  when  it  came  I  put  two 
and  two  together.  Marvin  is  the  only  man  in  the 
country  bold  enough  to  do  such  a  thing.  It  came  to 
me  directly  several  days  ago.  I  was  given  to  under 
stand  that  the  information  emanated  from  headquar 
ters,  and  I  was  advised  to  buy." 

Putnam  turned  on  his  chair,  his  cheeks  flushing. 
The  clerks  at  the  opposite  table,  watching  closely,  no 
ticed  his  change  in  color,  and  they  hazarded  wild 
guesses  as  to  its  meaning.  "  He  said  something  on 
this  order  to  me ;  I  suppose  you  followed  his  '  pointer  ' 
and  bought  heavily  ?  " 

"  Not  I,"  smiled  La  Vette,  rubbing  his  nails ;  "  I 
wasn't  born  yesterday,  as  you  Americans  say." 

"  Kept  your  hands  off  it,"  suggested  Hayes,  his 
suggestion  openly  asking  for  information. 

La  Vette  shook  his  broad  head.  "  I  don't  get 
'  pointers  '  like  that  every  day.  I  sold.  I  know  Mar 
vin." 

Hayes  turned  his  eyes  on  Putnam,  helplessly,  almost 
pleadingly.  Putnam  clenched  his  teeth  and  the  color 
left  his  face. 

;<  Yes,"  continued  La  Vette,  cruelly,  enjoying  the 
discomfiture  of  the  others,  "  I  flatter  myself  that  I  am 
what  you  Americans  call  smart.  I'm  three  thousand 
dollars  to  the  good  now,  and  the  lowest  point  hasn't 
been  reached  yet  by  a  long  damn  sight,  if  you  will 
permit  me." 

Hayes  and  Putnam  leaned  back  in  their  chairs  as  if 


170  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

they  had  been  struck.  "  How  do  you  know?  "  gasped 
Putnam,  recovering  first. 

"  I  telephoned  down  to  my  broker  an  hour  after  the 
notices  were  posted.  You  have  no  idea  how  fast  such 
news  travels." 

;<  Yes,  we  have,"  snapped  Putnam,  his  hand  trem 
bling  so  that  he  almost  dropped  the  fork  he  was  twid 
dling. 

The  silence  deepened.  The  clerks  ceased  eating, 
gazing  at  the  awestruck  secretary  and  treasurer;  the 
waitresses  moved  about,  as  if  on  tiptoe.  The  whistles 
howled ;  the  slabs  roared  as  they  passed  under  the 
groaning  rolls ;  the  garish  light  from  an  ingot  shone 
through  the  room  like  lightning  after  a  thunder 
clap. 

'  The  black-hearted  scoundrel,"  muttered  Putnam, 
under  his  breath,  unable  to  contain  himself  longer. 
"  He  came  to  me  last  week  and  encouraged  me  in  the 
same  way,  only  stronger.  He  used  every  argument ; 
he  talked  like  a  father;  and  we  bit  like  gudgeons. 
How  in  God's  world  could  a  man  sit  up  all  night  and 
dream  of  a  thing  like  this  ?  It's  a  mad,  reckless  game, 
but  he's  played  it.  He's  been  selling  short  for  how 
much  and  how  long  the  Lord  only  knows.  Now  he's 
shut  the  mills  and  covered  himself  with  my  money  and 
Haves'  and  every  other  gudgeon's  he  could  pull  in. 
That's  one  comfort — we  weren't  the  only  fools." 

"  Yes,  that  is  a  comfort,"  came  from  the  chemist, 
as  he  drank  his  coffee,  unconcerned. 

"  I'm  ruined,"  gasped  Hayes ;  "  he's  got  every  cent 
back  the  Company  ever  paid  me." 

"  But  think  of  the  thousands  of  poor  devils  thrown 
out  of  work."  put  in  La  Vette,  half  cynically,  half 
sympathetically. 


THE  SHUT-DOWN  171 

"  Oh,  damn  them !  "  exclaimed  Putnam,  "  they  can 
take  care  of  themselves — they're  used  to  poverty." 

The  dinner  hour  was  over;  the  men  were  arising 
from  their  places,  lingering  there,  holding  consultation 
in  whispered  tones. 

Clark  the  cashier  and  three  or  four  of  the  less  timid 
ones  moved  over  to  the  secretary's  table  and  stood 
there  abashed,  each  waiting  for  the  other  to  speak 
first. 

La  Vette  nudged  Putnam.  "  Some  one  wants  to 
speak  to  you,  '  Put.' '  His  nudge  woke  the  despair 
ing  secretary  from  the  depths  of  his  dungeon  in 
Spain. 

"  Oh,"  started  Putnam.     "  Well,  what  is  it,  Clark?  " 

"  Excuse  me,"  hesitated  Clark,  "  for  interrupting ; 
but  the  boys  asked  me  if  I  wouldn't  get  a  little  infor 
mation  from  you  on  this  thing.  How  long  do  you 
think — do  you  mind  telling  us  how  long  this  shut 
down  will  last  ?  " 

Putnam  looked  up,  his  sharp  eyes  twinkling  angrily 
over  his  large  glasses.  He  was  on  the  point  of  burst 
ing  out  into  a  jeremiad  against  Marvin;  but  he  re 
strained  himself,  merely  shrugging  his  shoulders  in  a 
manner  that  gave  a  determining  answer  to  Clark's 
question. 

"  If  you  will  allow  me  to  speak  unauthoritatively, 
gentlemen,"  came  the  chemist's  foreign  accent  "  if  this 
shut-down  lasts  a  week,  it  will  last  a  long  time.  The 
mills  will  go  to  bed  to-night,  so  to  speak,  and  they  will 
be  up  and  doing  in  the  morning.  Up  and  doing  is 
the  expression,  is  it  not,  Mr.  Putnam  ?  " 

Putnam  nodded  absently. 

"  And  if  I  were  in  your  place,"  concluded  La  Vette, 
"  I'd  follow  their  good  example  and  not  bother." 


XVII 
HOMEWARD  BOUND 

DESPITE  the  vigilance  of  the  police  the  men 
held  meetings  all  that  night,  gathering  again 
in  knots  and  groups  and  clusters.  Within 
the  foreign  quarters  especially  family  and  neighborly 
consultations  continued  until  the  number  of  the  hours 
was  small. 

In  the  home  of  the  Brodskis  there  was  bitter  lamenta 
tion.  Starvation  stared  the  family  in  the  face.  Mrs. 
Brodski,  her  hands  on  her  knees,  rocked  herself  to 
and  fro  wailing  sorely.  "What  will  we  do!  What 
will  we  do !  "  By  rigid  economy  they  would  be  able, 
though  the  shut-down  continued,  to  pay  the  rent  for 
some  weeks  to  come;  but  food,  clothes  and  coal  were 
as  necessary  for  existence  as  shelter,  and  from  where 
were  these  to  come?  The  children  cried  themselves 
to  sleep,  fearing  unmentionable  things.  Foreseeing 
that  the  market  would  be  deluged  with  second-hand 
goods,  Mrs.  Brodski  sent  Michael  and  Jan  to  dispose 
of  her  sewing-machine  while  there  was  yet  time  to 
secure  even  a  pittance  for  it. 

In  their  lodges  the  unions  were  busy  discussing  the 
advisability  of  calling  a  mass-meeting  to  protest  against 
the  action  of  the  Company;  but  the  wisest  (Blair  was 
foremost  among:  them)  defeated  the  resolution.  They 
saw  clearly  that  there  was  nothing  to  protest  against, 

172 


HOMEWARD  BOtfND         173 

or,  at  least,  that  no  protestation  would  avail.  There 
was  no  institution  on  earth  which  could  force  a  corpo 
ration  to  open  a  business  which  it  decided  to  shut 
down. 

The  socialists  met  in  their  hall,  and  the  speeches 
were  radical,  hot-headed,  verging  towards  the  anar 
chic.  The  characteristic  tendency  of  the  club  to  theo 
rize,  to  argue,  to  gain  the  promised  land  by  peace  and 
progress,  was  supplanted  by  reckless  suggestions  of 
storm  and  violence.  When  Blair  attended,  later  in 
the  evening,  he  pleaded  eloquently  and,  after  a  heroic 
struggle,  he  succeeded  in  turning  the  turbulent  waters 
down  their  accustomed  channels. 

In  the  shack,  back  of  the  Brodskis,  in  the  small, 
compact  Polish  quarter,  the  anarchists  were  virulent 
ly  active.  The  long  missionary  work  had  increased 
the  small  band  to  a  host  that  jammed  the  three  rooms 
of  the  miserable  cottage.  Marvin's  unwarranted 
action  proved  the  most  enthusiastic  promulgator  their 
cause  could  have. 

Miss  Goldstein,  Jan  and  La  Vette" — even  Paul — 
made  diabolical  speeches,  bristling  with  dynamite. 
The  chemist's  calm  announcement  that  he  had  three 
thousand  dollars  at  the  disposal  of  the  cause  aroused 
a  storm  of  zealous  approval. 

Marvin  had  stirred  the  brew  ;  it  was  more  than  ques 
tionable  if  the  toilers  in  the  mill  were  ready  to  quaff 
the  bitter  concoction. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  front  page  of  the  Chicago 
newspapers  were  devoted  to  a  vitriolic  denunciation 
of  Marvin's  "  Stock  Deal."  The  North- Western  mill 
stock  was  quoted  as  having  dropped  to  40  from  42, 
the  lowest  point  of  the  day  before.  Preferred  stock 
declined  to  77^4  from  80^4.  At  the  cl<xe  of  the  day. 


i74  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  tendency  was  still  downward.  Marvin  (an  Asso 
ciated  Press  reporter  had  found  him  in  New  York) 
declared  that  the  shutting  down  of  the  mills  was  due 
solely  to  overproduction.  Present  conditions,  state 
ments  from  the  other  mills,  the  newspapers  unani 
mously  declared,  gave  the  lie  to  his  claims.  There 
was  a  scathing  account  of  the  manner  in  which  Mar 
vin  had  deluded  a  number  of  his  friends,  a  host  of  his 
employees,  and  a  handful  of  city  and  state  politicians; 
to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  "  favors,"  into  buying 
stock  a  day  or  two  before  the  consummation  of  his 
deal. 

Blair  found  Judson  in  the  parlor  reading  his  paper, 
his  hand  shaking  slightly,  the  tip  of  his  triangular 
nose  almost  white.  Ben  Judson  was  there,  frowning 
and  angry. 

"  Have  you  seen  this  ?  "  asked  Judson. 

Blair  read  quickly,  grasping  the  contents  of  the 
column,  as  it  were,  with  a  swoop  of  his  eyes.  He 
whistled  a  prolonged  "  Whew." 

"  So  that's  it,"  exclaimed  Blair. 

"  Apparently,"  answered  Judson,  meekly,  stuffing 
the  bowl  of  his  pipe  from  his  tobacco-pouch,  with  un 
steady  fingers.  It  was  evident  that  he  found  no  diver 
sion  in  smoking,  the  fire  smoldered  and  died  in  the 
bowl. 

His  wife  came  down  the  stairs  and  Judson  nudged 
Blair,  saying  in  a  half  whisper  to  him  and  Ben— 
k<  Just  turn  those  sheets  inside ;  I  don't  want  her  to 
see  it.  She'll  hear  soon  enough." 

Wondering  for  the  second,  then  grasping,  Blair 
obeyed  the  best. 

Mrs.  Judson  curtesied  a  pleasant  good-morning  and 
passed  smiling  into  the  kitchen.  The  younger  chil- 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         175 

dren  came  into  the  parlor,  but  rinding  their  fa 
ther  preoccupied  and  absorbed  they  made  for  the 
kitchen. 

"  I  had  my  fingers  nipped  in  that  deal,"  went  on 
Judson,  turning  slightly  paler,  the  pallor  spreading 
from  the  tip  of  his  nose  inward  to  his  face.  "  I 
wouldn't  say  a  word  but  " — his  voice  quavered  and 
he  relit  his  pipe,  speaking  again  when  the  fire  died 
down  in  the  bowl — "  I  wouldn't  say  a  word  but  I've 
been  saving  the  money  to  buy  a  home,  and  I  was  ca 
joled  into  buying  stock.  And,  and — damn  it — I  put 
some  of  Martha's  money  in  too." 

Blair  nodded  sympathetically,  his  heart  swelling 
with  rage  at  Marvin  and  with  pity  for  Judson,  to 
whom  he  was  deeply  attached.  He  loved  his  quaint 
ways  and  his  droll  speech. 

:<  The  old ,"  cursed  Ben,  prodding  his  palm  with 

his  fist.  "  What  have  I  been  saying  right  along?" 

Judson  nodded  sadly.  "  I  know  most  boys  have  the 
reputation  of  claiming  to  be  wiser  than  their  fathers, 
but  the  fathers  who  don't  boast  that  they  know  more 
than  the  whole  family  together  are  rare." 

Judson's  voice  quavered  shrilly  and  broke;  then  he 
regained  mastery  and  went  on : 

"  The  tip  came  to  me  from  the  office  a  day  or  two 
ago  to  buy  North- Western  mill  stock.  Putnam  spoke 
to  me  about  it,  and  I  thought  he  had  it  direct  from 
Marvin.  And  I  believed  in  it,  and,  oh,  my  God,  boys, 
I  put  every  cent  I  had  into  it,  every  cent." 

The  old  man  let  his  pipe  drop  out  of  his  hand  on  the 
floor,  and  he  remained  quiet,  sitting  bolt  upright,  his 
rigid  hands  clinging  to  the  sides  of  his  chair. 

Blair  wished  to  say  some  comforting  word,  but  he 
knew  that  no  words  would  comfort  and  he  held  his 


176  BY  BREAD   ALONE 

peace.  Ben  cursed  Marvin  roundly  and  hotly,  as  his 
tirade  increased  in  vehemence. 

"  Hush,  Ben !  "  commanded  the  father,  "  that  kind 
of  talk  won't  do  any  good.  Nor  am  I  the  kind  either 
that  believes  in  turning  your  right  cheek  when  your 
left  is  struck.  Christ  said  that,  but  it  takes  a  Christ 
to  do  it.  I  remember  years  ago  when  I  was  out  West, 
during  the  gold  excitement,  that  a  crowd  of  miners 
were  just  about  to  lynch  a  horse-thief  and  general 
good-for-nothing,  when  the  parson  chanced  along. 
'  No  sermon,  parson,'  said  one  of  the  lynching-bee. 
'  Not  much/  said  the  parson,  swinging  his  arms  and 
yelling  loud,  '  I  want  my  hand  on  that  rope.'  And 
then  he  reached  back  to  his  pistol-pocket  and  drew  out 
his  gun  and  said,  *  Friends,  I  challenge  any  one  of  you 
to  say  that  there's  a  word  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  that  applied  to  horse-thieves.'  He  waited  a 
second  or  two  for  the  challenge,  but  it  wasn't  coming, 
so  he  went  on,  '  Friends  and  brothers  in  sin,  there's 
a  Sermon  on  the  Mount  for  Sundays  and  there's 
another  one  for  week-days,  there's  a  time  when  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  to  be  read  for'ards  and 
there's  a  time  when  it's  to  be  read  back'ards ;  and  to 
day's  the  time  when  we're  called  on  to  read  the  week 
day  one  back'ards.  If  there  is  any  one  here  as  puts  a 
different  interpretation  on  the  Scriptures,  I'd  like  to 
hear  his  views.' ' 

Judson  smiled  faintly  at  his  own  story,  and  remarked, 
after  a  second  or  two,  "  I  suppose  1  oughn't  to  be 
recalling  jokes  to-day,  but  the  thing  suggested  itself 
naturally  and  I  couldn't  help  myself.  My  sense  of 
humor  is  too  strongly  developed,  that's  the  trouble. 
Yes,  sir,  if  I  was  dying  I  believe  I  would  Dray  the  Lord 
to  postpone  the  event  until  I  could  tell  Him  where  the 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         177 

joke  came  in.  A  sense  of  humor  is  a  wonderful  thing 
though ;  it  helps  a  man  over  many  a  bad  road,  like  the 
one  we're  traveling  over  to-day,  for  instance.  Take 
even  a  dog  that  has  a  humorous  wag  to  its  tail  and 
it  is  a  terror  when  the  time  comes  around  for  fighting. 
A  man  without  a  sense  of  humor  is  like  a  wa^on  on 
three  wheels,  not  much  good  for  long  traveling  and 
bad  roads." 

Judson's  face  was  shadowed  by  tears  and  smiles, 
and  it  was  easy  to  see  that  he  was  struggling  to  con 
quer  his  own  sadness  of  heart,  and  that  his  story 
had  been  told  to  relieve  himself  as  much  as  to  delight 
his  hearers.  He  arose  after  a  minute  or  two,  say 
ing,  "  Excuse  me,  I'll  go  up-stairs  now.  I  ain't  the 
kind  that  can  conceal  my  feelings,  and  my  wife  may 
come  in  at  any  minute  and  then  she'll  know."  But 
even  on  the  stairs,  he  turned  to  say,  "  Yes,  sir,  the 
meanest  man  in  the  world  is  the  man  that  gets  you  to 
grind  his  ax  and  then  hits  you  with  the  ax  after  it's 
ground." 

Blair  was  alone  in  the  parlor,  rocking  to  and  fro, 
his  chin  resting  on  his  hand,  reflectingly,  when  Mar 
tha  came  in. 

"  You  seem  quite  absorbed,"  she  began,  "  perhaps 
I  ought  not  to  disturb  you." 

"  Oh,  I'm  just  worried,  like  thousands  of  others, 
wondering  what  I  shall  do  now  that  the  mills  have 
closed." 

"  It  does  seem  wrong,"  she  spoke,  musingly. 

"  It's  worse  than  that,  it's  criminal." 

"  But  after  all,  it's  their  property,  and  I  presume  that 
one  has  the  right  to  do  whatever  one  desires  with  one's 
property." 

Blair  looked  up,  shocked  at  her  point  of  view.     So 

12 


178  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

many  answers,  so  many  refutations  to  her  contention 
rolled  through  his  mind  at  the  same  time,  that  he  could 
seize  no  one.  He  sought  refuge  in  the  commonplace 
remark,  "  Pshaw,  Miss  Martha,  you  know  better  than 
that." 

Martha  became  a  deeper  puzzle  to  Blair  as  the  pass 
ing  days  united  them  in  intimate  friendship ;  and  her 
inclination  to  defend  the  capitalistic  side  of  the  issue 
was,  according  to  Blair's  way  of  thinking,  the  insolu 
ble  part  of  the  rebus.  Her  mental  attitude  provoked 
and  tantalized  him,  nay,  it  even  angered  him ;  and, 
strange  to  say,  this  very  anger  drew  him  to  her  closer. 
It  was  a  strong  peculiarity  of  Blair's  temperament  that 
he  was  ever  fascinated  by  people  and  things  he  could 
not  comprehend.  He  was  bent  upon  winning  her  over 
to  his  point  of  view.  Even  the  promulgation  of  his 
socialistic  doctrines  dwindled  away  to  unimportance 
beside  the  task  of  conquering  Martha  and  making  her 
serviceable  to  his  cause.  Despite  himself,  naturally 
for  that  reason,  Evangeline  gradually  occupied  his 
thought  less  and  less,  until  to  recall  Evangeline,  save 
to  serve  for  a  minor  term  in  the  comparison  with  Mar 
tha,  became  a  conscious  effort  of  the  mind  and  will. 

"  Tell  me,"  she  asked,  suddenly,  ignoring  his  last 
rebuke,  "  what  is  the  matter  with  my  father  this  morn 
ing?  He  doesn't  seem  himself;  something  is  wrong." 

He  shook  his  head  in  negation. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  you  know  anyway, 
Mr.  Blair,  if  you  will  pardon  my  saying  so." 

"  I  can't  see,"  he  said,  ignoring  her  question  and 
reverting  to  the  theme  that  was  boiling  in  him  for 
expression,  "  how  in  the  world  you  can  defend  such 
an  unutterably  selfish,  heartless  and  debased  standard 
of  conduct  as  that  which  led  to  the  shut-down," 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         179 

Martha  sat  tranquil,  her  fine  hands  crossed  in  her 
lap.  "  I  don't  know  as  yet  that  the  Company's  motive 
was  '  unutterably  selfish,  heartless  and  debased,'  and 
even  if  it  was  I  have  known  the  time  when  I  thought 
the  men  acted  in  a  selfish,  heartless  and  debased 
manner." 

"  You  are  always  defending  the  capitalists,  Miss 
Martha ;  simply  because  they  are  rich,  I  suppose." 

"  You  are  always  defending  the  laborers,  Mr.  Blair; 
simply  because  they  are  poor,  I  suppose." 

"  Even  so ;  the  motive  is  a  better  one." 

"  I  can't  see  why,"  she  retorted,  brushing  a  refrac 
tory  whisp  of  black  hair  back  from  her  broad  forehead. 

The  front  sheet  of  the  Sunday  paper  lay  folded  in 
his  pocket ;  he  was  impelled  to  show  it  to  her  in  sub 
stantiation  of  his  argument,  but  he  recalled  Judson's 
warning  in  time.  "  You  will  agree  with  me  before 
the  day  is  over,"  he  said,  simply. 

"  Perhaps  so.  You  are  in  an  argumentative  mood 
this  morning;  and  you  always  revert  to  the  same 
theme  when  you  are  that  way.  I  can't  see  why ;  there 
are  so  many  other  and  more  pleasant  things  to  talk 
about."  Her  smooth  brow  wrinkled. 

"  It  interests  me  most — above  everything  else,"  he 
answered,  in  extenuation. 

"  That  proves  you  are  narrow,  I  fear." 

She  arose,  her  long  arms  hanging  straight  at  her 
sides,  her  resolute  chin  erect. 

"  No,"  answered  Blair,  "  it  proves  my  breadth  of 
sympathies." 

"  Again,"  she  replied,  her  brow  wrinkling,  "  I  must 
say  that  I  can't  see  it  in  that  light.  But  we  can't 
agree  this  morning, — there  is  no  use  in  trying,  and  I 
must  off  to  help  mother  get  dinner." 


i8o  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

That  noon  at  dinner,  Judson  was  glum,  silent,  al 
most  morose.  At  times  he  would  gather  himself 
firmly  in  hand  and  shake  off  his  spirit  of  depression. 
He  ventured  on  an  anecdote  or  two,  but  the  flavor 
and  gusto  were  not  there,  and  they  fell  jangled  and 
out  of  tune.  His  spirit  infected  the  others,  and  the 
usual  gaiety,  wit  and  sparkling  repartee  of  the  Sun 
day  dinner  were  sadly  wanting.  Black  care  was  flap 
ping  its  wings  over  the  house,  preparing  to  swoop  fell 
down  upon  it.  Blair  could  hear  the  rustle  of  its  sable 
feathers. 

Immediately  after  dinner  Blair  betook  himself  to  his 
own  room.  A  vague  unrest,  a  dispeace  with  himself 
and  his  thoughts,  seized  Blair  and  stirred  him  to  the 
depths.  In  search  of  the  cause,  he  fell  to  the  analyz 
ing  of  his  mood.  It  could  not  be  love  for  Martha, 
this  growing  feeling  of  attraction  for  her?  He  was 
up  in  arms  against  the  disdainful  thought.  Was  it 
the  hopelessness  of  his  struggle,  the  littleness  of  his 
achievement?  "No,"  he  concluded  by  telling  him 
self,  "  I  am  homesick.  I  have  been  away  from  the 
family  too  long.  I  have  resisted  the  desire  to  re 
turn  too  fiercely.  I  can  give  into  it  with  safety 
now.'' 

There  could  be  no  more  opportune  time  than  dur 
ing  the  shut-down  to  return ;  perhaps  the  opportunity 
was  father  to  the  thought.  Prefiguring  the  family 
rejoicing  at  his  return  and  the  killing  of  the  fatted 
calf,  Blair  made  haste  to  change  his  clothes  and  to 
prepare  for  the  short  journey,  when  three  or  four  men 
from  his  lodge  of  the  union  filed  into  his  room  to  dis 
cuss  the  situation.  The  whole  afternoon  and  the 
early  evening  were  spent  in  futile  talk. 

For  Blair  that  night  was  long  and  sleepless.     His 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         181 

thoughts  were  not  his  own,  they  laughed  at  his 
puerile  attempts  at  control.  He  was  forced,  against 
his  will,  to  acknowledge  that  Martha  played  no  minor 
part  in  this  upheaval  of  his  feelings ;  and  yet  he  per 
sistently  denied  his  own  conclusion,  and  forced  and 
flattered  himself  into  the  belief  that  when  once  he 
reached  home  his  restlessness  and  his  dissatisfaction 
would  cease. 

In  the  morning  he  started  to  carry  out  the  defeated 
intentions  of  the  day  before.  Martha  was  just  start 
ing  for  school  when  Blair  left  the  house.  She  was 
surprised  at  the  difference  clothes  made  in  his  appear 
ance;  she  eyed  him  rather  keenly,  Blair  thought;  but 
she  let  no  remark  escape  her. 

"  I'm  taking  advantage  of  the  shut-down/'  he  vol 
unteered  the  information,  "  to  indulge  in  a  holi 
day." 

"  And  I'm  off  for  the  usual  terrible  grind.  Ugh, 
how  I  hate  it,"  she  groaned,  lifting  herself  more  erect, 
throwing  her  chin  back.  "  I  often  think  I  shall  re 
bel." 

''Rebel  against  what?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  that's  it,"  she  laughed,  cynically,  bitterly, 
"  rebel  against  what  ?  When  it  is  all  sifted  down 
there  is  nothing  tangible  against  which  one  can  rebel, 
except  oneself." 

"  You  ought  not  to  rebel  against  such  a  good  mis 
tress." 

A  skeptical  expression  on  her  clouding  countenance 
seemed  to  question  the  sincerity  of  Blair's  compli 
ment. 

"  Still,"  he  went  on,  "  you  ought  to  be  reasonably 
well  satisfied  with  your  work.  It's  a  pleasant  occupa 
tion,  I  should  think." 


i  82  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Delightful !  "  she  iterated,  with  sarcastic  empha 
sis. 

"  Besides,"  he  continued,  heedless  of  her  contra 
dictory,  cynical  manner,  "  thousands  and  thousands 
are  less  happily  situated." 

'  That's  a  very  commonplace  consolation,  allow  me 
to  say." 

"  I've  found  it  of  great  value  in  my  own  case." 

She  laughed  again,  the  same  hard,  cynical  laugh 
that  always  pained  and  puzzled  Blair. 

"  So  you  distribute  it  around  like  a  patent  medicine, 
warranted  to  cure  everybody  of  anything." 

"  I'm  afraid  it's  blue  Monday  with  you." 

He  was  wondering  whether  she  had  heard  of  her 
father's  financial  reverse  and  if  that  accounted  for  her 
excessive  bitterness  of  mood. 

"  No  bluer  than  usual,"  came  her  answer ;  "  anyway 
one  should  expect  a  blue  Monday  after  a  white  Sun 
day;  that's  life." 

"  No,  that's  what  we  make  out  of  life:  our  Mondays 
and  our  Sundays  are  the  same ;  all  days  belong  to  us 
to  make  out  of  them  what  we  will." 

"  You  missed  your  vocation,  I  fear;  you  should  have 
been  a  preacher  instead  of  a  leverman  in  the  rail-mill." 

"  Come,  now,  perhaps  I  tried  preaching,  found  out 
I  wasn't  fitted  for  it  and  gave  it  over  to  become  a  mill 
hand." 

She  looked  at  him  searchingly  for  a  minute  before 
replying.  "  I  could  hardly  believe  you  capable  of  such 
gigantic  folly." 

"Why  so?" 

"  It's  hardly  human  nature,  is  it,  to  give  up  an  easy 
berth  to  voluntarily  assume  a  harder  one?  Besides, 
preaching  is  better  paid." 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         183 

"  What  is  best  paid  and  easiest  isn't  always  best,  is 
it?" 

He  could  feel  her  black  eyes  travel  over  the  fea 
tures  of  his  face,  so  sharply  were  they  turned  on  him. 

"Oh,  I'm  sure  you  must  have  been  a  minister;  I 
never  heard  any  one  else  think  of  putting  that  ques 
tion." 

"  You  wouldn't  think  of  measuring  the  value  of 
life  by  that  mercenary  standard,  would  you,  Miss 
Martha  ?  "  he  asked. 

Martha's  dissatisfaction  grieved  him  sorely;  his 
love  pitied  her  profoundly.  Her  cynicism  was  but  a 
thorn,  he  thought,  that  was  lodged  merely  in  the  sur 
face  of  her  flesh,  and  he  was  sure  he  could  remove  it, 
if  she  but  gave  him  her  aid,  with  small  patience  and 
less  time. 

They  were  already  at  the  school  gate;  the  children 
were  assembled  on  the  cindered  ground,  shouting  lus 
tily.  She  reached  out  her  hands  for  the  books. 
"  We'll  continue  the  conversation  some  other  time, 
where  we  left  off.  I  wasn't  very  pleasant,  I  know," 
she  smiled  sweetly,  her  black  eyes  brimming,  "  but  it 
wasn't  my  fault,  really  it  wasn't  my  fault.  I  always 
start  out  trying  to  be  pleasant  and  agreeable  to  you, 
but  somehow  you  have  the  faculty  of  twisting  me 
wrong,  of  leading  me  astray  with  aggravating  argu 
ments.  There,"  noticing  Blair's  crestfallen  counte 
nance,  "  you  mustn't  feel  bad  about  it ;  it's  all  my 
fault,  I  know  it  is.  I  am  ever  so  grateful  for  your 
company." 

Striding  towards  the  suburban  depot  tracks,  Blair 
was  obsessed  by  the  thought  that  he  had  been  very 
guilty  somehow,  that  he  had  treated  Martha  shame 
fully,  but  he  could  arrive  at  no  clearness  as  to  the 


1 84  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

point  where  his  innocence  ceased  and  his  guilt  towards 
her  began.  All  their  talks  seemed  to  end  thus. 
Martha  was  intangible,  elusive,  difficult  to  grasp,  and, 
deny  it  as  he  would,  much  of  her  charm  lay  therein. 
They  would  grow  to  understand  each  other  yet,  he 
determined. 

Even  when  seated  in  the  train  he  became  vividly 
aware,  not  without  a  sensation  of  shock,  that  his  fancy 
was  more  troubled  at  the  thought  of  leaving  Martha 
than  exalted  at  the  prospect  of  drawing  nearer  to 
where  Evangeline  moved  and  had  her  being. 

As  the  engine  puffed  Chicago-ward  Martha  too 
vanished  into  the  dim  background  of  his  considera 
tion.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  traveling  not  a 
few  miles  but  thousands ;  for  Blair  was  not  speeding 
over  the  tracks  between  Chicago  and  Marvin,  but  over 
the  long  recollections  that  divided  his  past  from  his 
present. 

He  leaned  his  arm  on  the  window-ledge  and  mused 
deeply.  All  of  the  incidents,  all  of  his  life  at  the  mills, 
rolled  panoramawise  before  him.  It  seemed  impos 
sible  that  so  much  could  have  been  crowded  and 
jammed  into  those  four  months.  He  had  never  lived 
so  intensely,  so  actively.  He  felt  that  he  had  not  paid 
too  dearly  for  what  he  had  acquired.  He  was  recom 
pensed  as  richly  as  the  discoverer  who  finds  a  new 
world.  To  Blair  life  was  an  illimitable  sea  circling 
around  virgin  lands,  and  it  wao  his  purpose  to  face 
storm  and  peril,  to  put  forth  his  bark  bravely  that  he 
might  add  the  hitherto  unknown  to  the  map  of  his  ex 
periences. 

As  the  train  whirled  beyond  the  smoke  and  grime 
and  the  miserable  tenements  of  R  street,  away  from 
the  monotonous  prairie  land,  .into  the  brighter,  tree- 


HOMEWARD   BOUND         185 

decked  acres  of  the  park,  and  then  into  the  populated 
districts  of  the  suburbs,  his  heart  heaved  with  the 
vigor  of  the  patriotic  traveler  returning  to  his  native 
land. 

Impatience  seized  the  man,  the  train  moved  uncon 
scionably  slow,  the  numerous  stops  were  an  annoyance 
too  frequent.  Now  that  he  was  nearer  he  felt  farther 
away  than  ever.  His  circling  thoughts  centered  on 
the  countenances  of  his  father  and  mother.  What 
had  those  few  months  done  to  them?  He  reproached 
himself  roundly  for  his  neglect.  He  should  have  re 
turned  long  before.  Death  could  have — but  why 
bankrupt  happiness  by  borrowing  trouble  at  such 
usurious  rates? 

At  last  the  train  reached  his  destination.  Blair  dis 
mounted,  hurrying  into  the  street  and  gazing  around 
as  if  he  expected  to  find  that  all  had  changed  during 
his  absence.  The  hubbub  of  the  heavy  trucks  on  the 
stone  pavements  sounded  strange  and  new,  yet  de- 
liciously  familiar,  like  the  repetition  of  some  once 
loved  song,  long  forgotten.  He  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  surging  crowds,  at  home  again  and  happy.  He 
had  made  his  gain  at  a  loss  after  all ;  he  had  learned 
the  new  life,  forgotten  the  old.  Trolley  and  cable 
pulled  past  him,  disturbing  not  his  dream  by  the  noise 
of  bells  and  the  fret  of  iron  wheels. 

He  paused ;  should  he  go  north  directly  to  the  home 
stead  or  should  he  retrace  his  steps  and  make  for  his 
father's  business?  Deciding  the  question  he  moved 
westward.  The  elevated  cars  rumbled  over  his  head 
like  the  cranes  in  the  mill ;  he  looked  upward  absently 
half  expecting  to  see  the  mammoth  machines  whirl 
by  with  their  loads  of  ingots.  He  turned  into  the 
curving  street,  into  the  midst  of  the  interminable  lines 


!86  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

of  commission  and  grocery  houses,  his  way  blocked 
by  the  skids  which  ran  from  the  trucks  to  the  shipping 
floors  of  the  warehouses.  He  stepped  over  them,  im 
patient  of  delay. 

Through  the  tangle  of  jutting  signs  one  shone  out 
clear  and  emphatic — "  R.  B.  Carrhart,  Wholesale 
Groceries." 

Blair  stepped  inside  of  the  warehouse,  piled  high 
and  cluttered  with  boxes,  barrels  and  sacks ;  it  was  all 
barrenly  prosaic  compared  to  the  creative  activity  of 
the  roaring  machinery  of  the  mills. 

One  or  two  of  the  older  clerks  recognized  Blair, 
smiled  pleasantly  and  moved  forward  to  extend  their 
greeting. 

"  Been  away  on  a  journey?  "  they  asked. 

;<  Yes,"  he  answered  in  a  way  that  precluded  farther 
conversation  on  that  topic.  "  Is  my  father  down  yet  ?  " 

"  No,  but  we  expect  him  any  minute." 

Blair  seated  himself  in  the  private  office,  separated 
by  a  glass  partition  from  the  row  of  other  offices  and 
the  storerooms.  He  picked  up  the  morning  papers 
and  found  the  first  columns  devoted  to  a  sensational 
expose  of  "  Marvin's  Rigging  Deal,"  and  an  extended 
account  of  the  trail  of  ruin  that  his  tactics  had  left 
behind.  He  was  soon  absorbed  even  to  the  forgetting 
of  where  he  was. 

The  light  door  swung ;  Blair  glanced  up.  It  was 
his  father.  The  old  man  stood  still  for  a  second  like 
one  pinioned  by  surprise;  then  he  said  softly  and 
quietly,  his  voice  not  raising  a  semiquaver,  "  Well, 
Blair,  Blair.  How  glad  I  am  to  see  you."  They 
clasped  hands,  the  old  man  drawing  off  his  fawn-col 
ored  gloves  leisurely,  the  merry,  steady  twinkle  in 
his  eye  alone  divulging  the  depth  of  his  feeling. 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         187 

Carrhart  senior  opened  his  roll-top  desk,  removed 
his  silk  hat,  and,  sitting  down  on  the  swivel-chair,  lit 
a  black  cigar  in  unruffled  placidity.  The  clerk 
brought  in  his  mail.  He  ran  through  it,  glancing  at 
the  envelopes  expertly.  "  I  guess  it  can  wait,"  he 
smiled. 

It  was  his  way,  smooth,  dapper,  polished,  re 
strained.  The  store  might  have  been  burning,  ruin 
facing  him,  and  he  would  have  sat  there,  his  surface 
quiescence  unruffled. 

Blair  waited,  eying  him  with  infinite  love,  knowing 
well  the  method  of  his  procedure. 

The  father  turned  his  swivel-chair  towards  his  son, 
and  he  touched  the  ends  of  his  shapely  fingers,  bring 
ing  the  tips  under  his  chin. 

"  You  look  well,  Blair ;  you  haven't  grown  any 
thinner.  But  what  in  the  wide  world,  boy,  have  you 
been  doing  with  your  hands  ?  " 

Blair  shifted  them  uneasily,  making  for  his  pockets 
with  a  jerk ;  but  he  let  them  rest  where  they  were,  on 
his  knees,  exposing  their  roughness,  their  ingrained 
blackness,  their  bruises  and  scars,  to  the  critical 
glances  of  his  fastidious  sire. 

"  That  comes  from  hard  work."  He  blushed 
slightly. 

Carrhart  the  elder's  deep  black  eyes  twinkled  like 
sparks,  merrily.  He  smiled  imperceptibly ;  none  but 
Blair,  or,  perhaps,  his  mother,  would  have  noticed  the 
smile. 

"  Have  you  tired  of  it,  Blair  ?  " 

"  No,  not  exactly.  I  like  it  on  the  whole.  How 
is  every  one?  "  he  went  on,  inquiring  after  each  mem 
ber  of  the  family  individually.  He  had  expected  that 
his  father  would  volunteer  the  information. 


1 88  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  They're  all  very  well.  I  am  sure  that  you  will 
find  them  all  quite  as  you  left  them.  I  see  from  the 
newspapers  that  Marvin  has  stirred  things  up  at  the 
mills  a  bit.  They've  shut  down,  I  learn.  You  didn't 
come  home  on  that  account,  Blair,  I  hope?" 

"  No,  father,"  he  answered  warmly,  "  I've  been 
waiting  an  opportunity  for  a  long  while." 

A  sudden  wave  of  emotion  overwhelmed  Blair, 
shook  him  like  fright  or  nervous  dread,  bringing  a 
light  veiled  moisture  to  his  eyes.  He  could  have 
arisen  and  thrown  his  arms  around  that  thin,  erect 
aged  frame,  but  he  knew  very  well  that  such  effusive 
ness  would  have  been  distasteful. 

The  old  man  nodded  gently,  and  Blair  knew  that  his 
explanation  had  been  accepted  as  satisfactory. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Marvin's  performance  any 
way  ?  "  asked  Blair. 

tk  It  doesn't  surprise  me,  Blair.  He's  an  adven 
turer,  a  born  gambler.  Accident  and  a  peculiar  com 
bination  of  circumstances  have  lifted  him  from  the 
direction  of  gaming-tables  to  the  head  of  an  enormous 
corporation.  I  never  trusted  the  man  too  far,  al 
though  we  are  friends  in  a  distant  sort  of  a  way.  I 
meet  him  at  the  club  every  now  and  then." 

Carrhart  senior  swung  around  on  his  chair  and 
commenced  to  open  his  mail,  reading  the  letters 
quickly  and  laying  them  before  him  in  assorted  piles. 
He  touched  the  electric  button  at  the  side  of  his  desk 
and  gave  his  orders  in  the  same  quiet,  effective  man 
ner  in  which  he  had  talked  to  his  son. 

Blair  arose.  His  father  swung  around  quickly. 
"  What  do  you  intend  to  do,  Blair?  " 

"  I  see  that  you're  busy,  so  I  thought  I'd  take  a  run 
on  towards  home." 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         189 

"  Not  much.  Sit  down  and  wait.  We'll  go  out  for 
luncheon  together." 

Blair  sat  down  again,  watching  his  father,  narrowly, 
lovingly.  His  son  thought  that  he  had  grown  older 
by  years  during  those  few  months  of  his  departure, 
and  when  his  face  dropped  into  repose,  he  looked  care 
worn  and  troubled. 

Clerks,  purchasers,  stockkeepers  were  rushing  to 
and  fro  outside  of  the  office;  inside  was  the  steady 
click-clack-click  of  the  corps  of  typewriters.  There 
was  every  outward  sign  of  a  prosperous  business  and 
one  of  weight  in  the  commercial  world. 

The  father  went  on  with  his  mail,  distributing  it, 
dictating  letters, — through  the  usual  routine  of  the 
man  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  large  house. 

He  would  turn  to  look  at  Blair  in  the  interim  of 
occupation,  the  kindly  light  twinkling  affectionately 
in  his  eyes.  Blair  wandered  through  the  ramifica 
tions  of  the  vast  warehouse,  renewing  acquaint 
anceship  with  some  of  the  older  employees,  dawdling 
his  time  away,  yearning  to  return  to  the  mills  and  his 
duties  there. 

At  half  after  eleven  his  father  arose  from  his  desk 
and  shut  it  with  the  remark,  "  I'm  ready  now,  Blair." 

His  son  moved  towards  the  door  that  led  to  the 
street. 

"  Not  that  way ;  I  wish  to  show  you  something 
first,"  and  the  father  walked  through  the  offices  until 
they  reached  the  last  compartment  in  the  attenuated 
row — the  last  cell  honeycombed  in  that  busy  hive. 
The  room  was  a  counterpart  of  the  father's  office;  the 
same  desk,  carpeting  and  office  furniture,  all  wearing 
the  air  of  newness. 

"  This  is  your  office,  Blair.     It's  been  kept  empty, 


190  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

waiting  for  you  all  the  time.  I  need  only  to  have  B. 
Carrhart  painted  on  the  door,  and  it's  ready — com 
pletely." 

"But  I. don't  wish  it" — the  words  arose  softly  to 
Blair's  lips,  but  he  smothered  them^  with  a  decisive 
snap  of  his  square  jaws,  as  he  gazed  on  the  venerable 
countenance  that  beamed  down  on  him  so  longingly, 
so  lovingly,  so  hopefully. 

IC  It's  settled  then  and  I  can  go  ahead  with  the  sign, 
Blair?  At  the  same  time,  I  don't  mind  telling  you, 
I  intend  to  have  '  &  Son  '  added  to  the  sign  over  the 
front  door,"  and  a  happy  smile  broke  through  the  cus 
tomary  self-restraint  of  this  man  so  sternly  reserved. 

Blair  thought  a  second,  wondering  how  he  could 
drop  that  hope  without  smashing  it  into  bits  that 
would  rebound  and  cut  the  one  from  whom  it  had 
been  snatched. 

He  touched  his  father  on  the  arm  affectionately. 
"  We'll  talk  it  over  at  luncheon,  father." 

"  So  it  isn't  settled,"  said  the  older  man  to  himself, 
a  fleeting  glance  reflecting  his  twinge  of  disappoint 
ment. 

They  passed  out  into  the  street  together. 

'  There  goes  the  old  tree  and  its  fruit,"  remarked 
Johnson,  the  bookkeeper,  who  had  been  with  the 
firm  almost  since  its  inception,  to  Carpenter  the  city- 
salesman,  who  had  started  with  him. 

!<  Yes,"  replied  Carpenter,  "  and  from  all  I  can  see 
it's  singular  fruit  for  that  fine  old  tree  to  bear." 

Johnson  nodded  assentingly,  running  a  practised 
hand  down  interminable  columns. 

Carrhart  moved  southward  through  the  street,  lean 
ing  on  Blair's  strong  arm,  half  dependency,  half  pa 
ternally.  The  attitude  was  eloquent  to  the  son,  say- 


HOMEWARD  BOUND 


191 


ing:  "  I'm  getting  old,  Blair,  the  burden  of  my  years 
is  pressing  down  on  me  heavily,  help  me  bear  it.  You 
are  young,  you  are  strong,  you  have  no  burden  of 
your  own  to  carry." 

The  noon  sunlight  flooded  the  street,  and  the  fresh 
wintry  air  was  suggestive,  somehow,  of  unsmutched 
country  fields  as  it  whiffed  hurriedly  through  the 
sordid  atmosphere  of  the  street,  avaricious  of  profit. 

The  two  Carrharts  jogged  leisurely  through  the 
maddening  throng,  their  bearing  of  leisure  as  out  of 
place  in  their  environment  as  the  suggestion  itself  of 
hibernating  country  fields. 

Often  the  elder  smiled  and  bowed  in  acknowledg 
ment  of  the  nod  of  a  business  associate,  and  several 
times  on  their  journey  to  the  restaurant,  he  stopped 
to  introduce  an  intimate  friend  to  Blair.  "  My  son, 
Mr.  So  and  So,"  he  would  say,  and  nothing  more ;  but 
the  manner  in  which  the  words  were  spoken  carried 
such  pride  of  possessorship,  such  an  evident  glow  of 
paternal  satisfaction,  that  the  explanatory  phrases  of 
"  Isn't  he  a  fine  fellow  ?  Don't  you  like  his  looks  ? 
Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  a  son  like  him, now?  "  were 
as  audible  as  if  they  had  been  uttered.  It  all  went 
straight  to  Blair's  heart. 

They  turned  west  and  entered  one  of  the  large  res 
taurants,  comparatively  empty  now  by  reason  of  the 
early  hour.  They  took  a  table  at  one  side  of  the  room, 
the  walls  of  which  were  decorated  with  German  dog 
gerel,  two-lined,  declaring  the  virtue  of  wine,  wife  and 
song. 

Conversation  between  father  and  son  turned  on 
general  topics,  each  skilfully  avoiding  the  dangerous 
border  line  of  the  all-important  but  rather  unpleasant 
subject.  They  grew  silent  after  a  while,  the  one 


192  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

thinking  of  how  he  might  approach  it  most  delicately, 
the  other  of  how  he  might  escape  it  most  adroitly ; 
and  so  the  question  of  Blair's  future  sat  between  them 
like  an  intruder,  forbidding  frank  intimacy.  Yet  they 
were  happy  in  each  other's  company,  rejoicing,  like 
two  lovers,  in  the  privilege  of  being  together. 

It  was  only  on  the  way  back  that  his  senior  said 
to  Blair  unexpectedly,  with  a  quirk  from  the  straight 
line  of  their  talk : 

"  Blair,  I'm  getting  old — I  suppose  you  noticed  that 
— I'm  beginning  to  feel  the  weight  of  carrying  the 
business  alone.  I  need  help.  I  can't  last  forever,  and 
if  anything  happens  to  me,  there  ought  to  be  some  one 
there  to  go  on  with  the  business,  not  for  my  sake  but 
for  your  younger  brothers'  and  your  sisters'  and  your 
mother's." 

The  old  man  paused  as  if  he  would  fain  end  his  ap 
peal  and  drop  the  whole  matter  did  it  not  lie  beyond 
his  power  (it  was  merely  the  simmering  heated  waters 
boiling  upwards  and  over),  and  then  he  went  on,  fal- 
teringly : 

"  It's  going  to  be  a  hard  year,  next  one,  too,  Blair; 
I  can  feel  it  coming.  The  downward  tendency  of  in 
flated  prices  will  commence  soon  and  a  panic  isn't  ex 
actly  against  commerical  precedent.  I've  waded  out 
pretty  deeply  these  last  few  years, — the  business  has 
grown  faster  than  my  capital,  and  if  '  paper  '  hangs 
on  the  market  like  lead,  I'm  apt  to  be  pushed  down. 
You'd  better  stay  at  home,  Blair.  I  haven't  said  much 
about  it,  because  I  thought  it  was  only  the  question 
of  a  month  or  two  before  you  would  get  through  scat 
tering  your  crop  of  peculiar  oats, — they  never  were 
wild  oats,  I  often  wish  they  had  been, — and  come 
home  to  settle  down  to  legitimate  business,  as  natur- 


HOMEWARD  BOUND         193 

ally  as  a  homing  pigeon  gets  back  to  the  right  course 
after  circling  around  a  bit." 

"  I'll  be  home  for  a  few  days  yet  at  any  rate ;  let  me 
think  it  over,  father,"  answered  Blair,  gently  but  de 
cidedly. 
13 


XVIII 
HOME,  SWEET  HOME 

EASTWARD  from  the  lake  the  strong  Jan 
uary  sunshine  drifted  over  the  city,  pour 
ing  round  the  old-fashioned  mansion  of  the 
Carrharts,  gilding  the  double  front  of  its  marble 
exterior,  rolling  gently  between  the  pillars  of  its 
portico  that  arched  above  the  flight  of  stone  steps, 
whirling  its  beams  into  Blair's  room  on  the  third  floor, 
left  vacant  so  long;  flinging  spangled  gold  among  the 
books  ranged  in  shelves  along  the  walls ;  gathering  to 
play  pranks  on  the  strong  features  of  the  burly  sleeper, 
and  painting,  with  tender  touch,  fine  ellects  of  light 
and  shade  on  the  face  of  the  beneficent  old  lady  who 
sat  like  a  guardian  angel,  watching  with  yearning, 
brooding  earnestness  the  countenance  of  her  son. 

Blair  awoke.  The  crash  of  the  pounding  rails  was 
in  his  ears,  and  the  smoke  of  the  mills  spread  darkly 
before  him.  He  was  ready,  IT'S  thought  moving  au 
tomatically  down  the  grooves  of  habit,  to  assume  the 
besmutted  garments  and  hasten  to  his  station.  He 
smiled,  lying  supine  in  the  full  luxury  of  ease  undis 
turbed.  He  opened  his  eves. 

"  Mother,  is  that  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

She  smiled  affirmatively  down  upon  !iim,  her  hand 
moving  caressingly  through  his  thick  shock  of  black- 
hair. 

194 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        195 

"  At  your  old  tricks/'  he  laughed,  twining  his  mus 
cular  arm  protectingly  around  her  waist,  tapering,  as 
well  outlined  as  a  young  girl's,  "  stealing  into  my  room 
to  watch  me  wake.  It  seems  good  to  be  at  home." 

'*  It  seems  good  to  have  you,  Blair,"  and  the  wrinkles 
of  her  cheeks  smoothed  away  under  the  magic  of  her 
maternal  smile. 

Where  was  love  like  it?  Where  had  he  found  it 
before  ?  Where  would  he  find  it  again  ?  How  trivial 
the  worth  of  all  things  whatsoever  beside  it! 

"  Oh,  it  seems  good  to  be  at  home,  here,  with  you," 
he  murmured,  lightly,  his  chest  heaving,  his  arms 
spreading,  with  joy  too  strong  to  be  contained. 

They  had  talked  until  late  the  night  before ;  he  had 
fallen  asleep  with  her  arm  around  him,  only  to  wake 
in  her  arms  again  and  hear  her  sweet  voice. 

They  became  as  children  together,  the  old  mother 
and  the  young  son — the  old  son  and  the  young  mother, 
one  might  be  tempted  to  say  contradictorily  at  certain 
moments — and  they  whirled  quick-flying  time  away 
with  laughter. 

"  If  you  could  only  content  yourself  to  remain  at 
home  with  us,  Blair." 

"  If  I  only  could,"  he  said,  seriously,  half  sadly. 
"  Come,  we  are  going  over  the  same  beaten  track 
again ;  and  we  agreed  not  to,  only  last  night,  you 
know.  Events  will  decide  that.  I  never  did  seem  to 
belong  quite  to  myself;  I  always  have  been  in  the 
control  of  outside  forces— I  don't  know  what  they 
are ;  call  them  any  name  vou  please.  Ah,  but  let  them 
go;  let  everything  go.  Let's  just  be  happy,  like  chil 
dren." 

Her  expressive  face  passed  from  its  drooping  sad 
ness  into  a  smile,  evidently  not  without  effort,  not 


K/)  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

without  having  overridden  torment  and  tears  for  her 
strange,  singularly  gifted  boy. 

He  laughed  aloud,  compelhngly,  and  her  own  mirth 
was  forced  to  follow.  He  had  always  molded  her 
to  his  stronger  will.  He  had  always  gained  his  way, 
always  succeeded  finally  in  winning  her  to  believe  that 
what  he  wished  to  do  was  best  to  do,  because  it  had 
been  foreordained  that  he  should  so  do. 

She  believed,  mother-like,  in  his  wonderful  career, 
in  the  greatness  he  must  attain,  and  willingly  mother- 
like  also,  she  preferred  to  sacrifice  herself  to  stand 
ing  in  what  he  considered  the  road  to  achievement ; 
but,  nevertheless,  she  grieved  to  see  his  gifts  and 
powers  wither,  when  they  might  so  easily  have 
flowered ;  fading  away,  when,  if  but  transplanted  to 
favorable  soil,  they  might  so  easily  have  blossomed. 

The  Carrhart  family  breakfasted  together  that 
morning,  the  father,  the  mother,  Blair's  two  younger 
brothers,  who  were  on  the  point  of  being  graduated 
from  the  high  school,  and  his  younger  sisters,  who 
were  just  verging  towards  womanhood  in  a  way  de 
lightful  to  the  eye.  None  of  these  was  like  Blair  in 
the  least,  either  in  taste  or  character ;  none  of  these 
understood  him  or  wasted  much  time  in  the  trying. 
They  thought  him  a  fantastic  arrangement  (wherein 
perhaps  they  held  right),  with  his  odd  ambitions  and 
his  sentimental  ideals ;  and  a  hard-and-fast  line  was 
drawn  between  them,  which  the  one  side,  try  as  it 
would,  could  never  cross,  and  the  other  side,  not  try 
ing  at  all,  never  passed  beyond ;  still  they  were  fond 
of  their  elder  brother,  when  all  was  said  and  done,  and 
happy  in  their  undemonstrative  manner  to  have  him 
in  their  midst. 

"  1  have  a  cane  to  lean  on  this  morning,  you  per- 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        197 

ceive ;  a  good  stout  one,"  said  the  husband  to  his  wife 
on  leaving  the  house  to  walk  to  town  with  Blair. 
Blair  spent  the  morning  in  the  store,  his  restlessness 
increasing  to  pain  as  the  regulator  ticked  sluggishly 
towards  noon,  and,  finding  himself  unable  to  sit  there 
longer,  he  made  his  escape,  with  an  excuse  that  the  old 
gentleman  may  or  may  not  have  believed — the  chances 
are  that  he  didn't,  age  having  made  him  skeptical. 
Blair  fairly  ran  towards  home,  with  his  seven-leagued 
strides  and  the  forward  swing  of  his  long  arms.  He 
hoped  that  the  inspiriting  exercise  would  give  sur 
cease  to  the  restlessness  that  was  carrying  his  nerves 
to  the  pitch  of  fever. 

Nowhere  was  there  rest  for  Blair ;  not  to  act,  to 
sit  with  hands  folded,  suffocated  his  chafing  energies, 
as  not  to  breathe  starved  his  capacious  lungs.  The 
oflice  had  wearied  him  more  with  every  minute, 
weighed  down  upon  him,  recalling  to  him,  by  the 
fierce  light  of  contrast,  the  machinery,  the  protean 
energy  of  the  mills,  active,  doing,  like  the  roaring 
loom  of  time.  He  had  been  absent  but  a  day,  and  al 
ready  he  was  aching  for  his  post  on  the  "  pulpit  "  as 
a  slightly  disabled  soldier  yearns  to  rejoin  his  com 
rades  in  battle.  He  would  go  back.  He  must  go 
back.  He  was  drawn  thither  irresistibly.  Duty  in 
sisted  upon  his  return.  He  ate  luncheon  alone  with 
.his  mother,  glad  that  none  intruded  upon  their  in 
timacy.  It  was  a  dialogue  between  filial  and  ma 
ternal  loves  and  hopes  and  fears ;  and  the  two  coun 
tenances,  lighting  and  darkening,  visibly  expressed 
the  feelings  of  genuine  hearts. 

After  noon  he  was  in  his  own  room  again,  seeking 
solace  in  the  books  that  had  been  his  companions  for 
so  long,  realizing,  with  a  pang,  that  his  pleasure  in 


198  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

them  had  gone  and  that  he  was  not  in  tune  to  receive 
their  ripe  confidences,  and  his  eye  moved  and  ranged 
down  the  long  compact  rows, 

11  Sadly  as  some  old  medieval  knight 
Gazed  at  the  arms  he  could  no  longer  wield." 

What  had  wrought  the  change?  Had  experience 
in  an  adverse  world  made  learning  seem  as  ornaments 
in  a  room  unoccupied?  He  took  down  from  the 
shelves  his  thumb-marked,  dog-eared  Spanish  copy 
of  Don  Quixote,  reading  where  his  fingers  chanced  to 
turn  the  pages.  The  irony  of  the  moment  brought 
him  to  a  halt  before  the  valiant  knight's  mistaken 
combat  with  the  windmill.  The  book  closed.  He 
fell  to  meditating  darkly.  Was  that  to  be  his  des 
tiny — the  pathos  and  the  tragedy  of  a  life  burned 
away  in  useless  enterprise?  Was  his  arm  doubled 
and  his  brain  wearied  in  the  attack  of  windmills, 
transformed  into  world-enemies  by  the  delusions  of  a 
diseased  imagination? 

He  replaced  the  book,  pacing  like  a  whip-driven 
Orestes  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  room. 
He  could  remain  there  no  longer.  He  must  on.  He 
must  move.  He  must  beguile  his  dissatisfaction  with 
the  thought  that  he  would  find  rest  in  the  turbulence 
of  excited  motion. 

What  was  it  that  disturbed  and  harassed  him  so? 
Was  it  because  duty  was  playing  truant  to  his  mis 
sion?  After  all  and  at  bottom  was  it  Martha?  His 
thoughts  had  dwelt  on  her  that  morning  at  the  office. 
Even  in  his  walk  homeward  his  mind  could  not  free 
itself  from  the  insistent  presence  of  her  baffling  coun 
tenance.  She  was  with  him  now,  difficult,  hard  to 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        199 

solve,  elusive,  rising  through  the  depths  of  his  dis 
content  and  standing  in  bold  relief  on  its  surface. 

Some  are  imprisoned  in  this  world  by  gyves  of 
iron,  locked  on  their  struggling  wrists ;  others  are  en 
slaved  by  threads  of  their  own  weaving — the  more 
terrible  bondage  of  the  two  since  the  victim  is  ever 
tantalized  by  the  weakness  of  his  own  strength. 

As  Blair  was  moving  down  the  stairs,  he  looked 
into  the  open  doors  of  the  parlor  to  see  if  his  mother 
were  there,  and  in  the  old-fashioned  French  pier-glass, 
he  caught  a  reflection  that  brought  him  to  a  stop. 

It  was  a  petite,  finely  chiseled  face,  wistfully  smil 
ing,  an  aureole  of  auburn  hair,  partly  broken  by  a 
hat  of  black  plumed  with  white  bird-of-paradise 
feathering — a  pretty,  soothing  vision  to  break  thus 
suddenly  on  a  savage  mood. 

He  stalked  into  the  room,  feeling,  perhaps,  the  re 
flection  in  the  glass  was  but  an  illusion  of  his  fancy 
that  would  flee  into  the  realm  of  indistinguishable 
shadows  at  his  approach. 

"  Van !  "  he  exclaimed,  extending  his  hand  for  a 
welcoming  grasp.  "  I  saw  your  face  reflected  in  the 
glass  as  I  came  down-stairs."  His  heart  beat  fast;  he 
thought  his  inward  trembling  was  outwardly  discern 
ible.  He  was  afraid  of  his  own  impalpable  fears. 

"  Through  a  glass,  darkly,"  smiled  she  demurely, 
extending  a  white-gloved  hand.  Her  blue  eyes  rested 
on  his,  frankly,  inquiringly,  eagerly;  Blair  felt  as  if 
they  pierced  the  intercepting  walls  of  his  flesh  to 
read,  as  in  an  open  book,  what  was  written  in  his 
heart.  He  held  her  hand  as  if  it  were  delicate  glass 
that  his  grasp  might  crush.  Her  touch  thrilled  him; 
it  set  the  current  of  his  blood  to  swifter  flowing,  and 
stirred  his  memory  to  the  recalling  of  a  thousand  as- 


200  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

sociations  of  the  past.  She  had  already  arisen  to  go, 
and  Blair's  mother  was  standing  beside  her,  smiling 
down  upon  them  both. 

The  Marvins  and  the  Carrharts  had  been  neighbors 
in  the  early  days,  and  Evangel ine  had  never  quite  out 
grown  her  affection  for  Blair's  mother,  although  the 
distance  between  the  two  homes  was  now  a  barrier  to 
the  close  intimacy  that  had  existed  of  yore.  She  had 
deferred  a  promised  call  for  some  time ;  but  the  news 
of  the  shut-down,  with  its  attending  possibility  of  find 
ing  Blair  at  home,  brought  the  promise  into  immediate 
execution. 

Evangeline's  arm  slipped  around  Mrs.  Marvin's 
waist,  and  their  lips  kissed  a  good-by,  while  Blair 
stood  near,  towering  above  them  both.  He  would 
have  given  the  rest  of  his  life,  he  thought  then,  to 
have  stood  in  his  mother's  place.  Habituated  to  self- 
analysis,  to  introspection  as  he  was,  there  arose  in  him 
then  a  half-mocking,  half-rejoiceful  sensation  at  the 
discovery  of  Martha's  comparative  unimportance  to 
his  abiding  love. 

"  I  was  going  out ;  let  me  walk  down  to  the  carriage 
with  you,"  said  Blair. 

"  If  you  are  quite  sure  that  it  will  not  inconvenience 
you,"  she  answered,  toying  with  the  sable  heads  on 
her  muff.  She  assumed  indifference,  straining  for  it, 
resolved  to  be  mistress  of  herself  this  time  and  to  hide 
from  him  the  one  thing  she  wished  him  to  know  above 
all  the  other  things  in  the  world.  Indifference  is  a 
good  shield  but  a  poor  weapon,  she  learned  after 
wards. 

Her  tone  stung  him  to  the  quick ;  it  was  so  unlike 
her ;  it  was  as  if  her  voice  and  manner  had  changed 
during  his  short  absence.  He  could  say  nothing,  giv- 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        201 

ing  his  reply  by  walking  with  her  towards  the  door. 
She  interpreted  his  silence  for  a  mere  polite  compli 
ance,  and  she  was  more  determined  than  ever  to  fol 
low  out  her  decision. 

Blair's  mother,  ensconced  behind  the  Renaissance 
lace  curtains,  watched  them  as  they  descended.  She 
had  always  hoped  for  that  union,  wished  for  it  often, 
prayed  for  it  ever.  She  would  have  counted  her  life 
well-lived,  perfectly  rounded  out,  could  she  but  wit 
ness  the  ceremony  that  made  these  two  one.  Noth 
ing  had  saddened  her  mother-heart  more,  than  when 
Blair  told  her  that  his  engagement  with  Evangeline 
had  been  broken.  Still  she  held  tenaciously  to  the 
belief  that  this  was  but  a  black  cloud  shifting  over 
the  placid  heaven  of  courtship, — a  petty  obstruction 
to  break  the  smoothness  of  their  betrothal  and  make 
the  course  of  their  love  run  proverbially  true ;  and  so 
she  watched  them  closely,  taking  this  fortuitous  meet 
ing  as  the  will  of  unavoidable  fate. 

"  I  must  hurry,"  said  Evangeline,  "  I  have  so  many 
calls  to  make."  She  twisted  her  sable  collar  into  place, 
beckoning  to  the  coachman,  who  was  driving  slowly  up 
the  street. 

Her  words,  which  cost  her  so  much  to  speak,  could 
Blair  have  only  known  it,  fell  upon  his  glowing  passion 
with  a  chilling  effect.  He  could  not  say  what  he 
yearned  to  say,  what  his  lips  were  burning  to  express, 
and  he  moved  down  the  walk  to  the  carriage-block  in 
silence. 

"  I  was  going  out  for  a  long  stroll,  and  I  thought 
perhaps  that  you  would  like  to  go  with  me — rather  I 
thought  how  much  I  would  like  to  have  you  go  with 
me,"  spoke  Blair,  as  if  by  sudden  inspiration.  Alone 
with  her,  in  the  quiet  of  the  snow-covered  park,  that 


202  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

same  feeling  would  come  back  to  him  which  had 
prompted  his  lips  but  a  moment  ago  and  which  had 
utterly  deserted  him  now. 

"  The  latter  half  of  the  sentence  was  turned  better." 
She  smiled,  a  forced  smile  that  covered  the  painful 
look  her  face  naturally  would  have  expressed. 

There  was  a  strong  impulse  in  him  to  grasp  her  by 
the  arm  and  say  :  "  Oh,  Van,  you  are  not  yourself  ;  you 
are  pretending,  you  are  acting  a  part.  Be  honest 
with  me ;  tell  me  what  is  really  in  your  heart,"  and  if 
he  had  done  so  how  quickly  would  she  have  confessed, 
how  weak  would  have  been  her  shield  before  the  attack 
of  a  sword  so  well  wielded ;  but  he  could  stand  there, 
only  waiting  for  the  carriage  to  drive  up,  trying  to 
grasp  at  some  one  thought  of  the  thousands  that  were 
swirling  through  his  mind. 

"  Will  you  go?  "  he  asked  again,  less  warmly. 

"  I  have  so  many  calls  to  make,  and  I  must  really 
hurry.  If  you  were  a  \\oman,  Blair,  a  fashionable 
woman,  you  would  know  how  important  these  calls 
are,"  she  said,  with  light  irony,  vexed  at  the  seeming 
lack  of  enthusiasm  with  which  he  pushed  his  request. 

"  I  think  I  know  what  it  means."  His  mind  was 
afar;  he  was  conscious  of  repeating  something,  he 
knew  not  what. 

"  I  am  glad  you  know,  Blair,  because  that  will  plead 
my  excuse." 

Surprised  at  the  note  of  petulence  which  escaped 
through  her  indifference,  he  looked  at  her  search- 
ingly ;  her  eyes  were  fastened  on  the  waiting  car 
riage. 

He  opened  the  carriage  door,  but  held  it  half  ob 
structed  with  a  turn  of  his  burly  body. 

"  Do  you  really  wish  me  to  go  ?  "     She  would  pun- 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        203 

ish  him  now  that  the  tables  were  turned,  for  his  slight 
ing  conduct  in  the  mills. 

"  Of  course,  I  shouldn't  ask  you  if  I  didn't.  I  have 
a  great  deal  to  say." 

Before  the  earnestness  of  that  appeal  and  the  old 
warmth  in  his  voice,  she  feared  she  must  succumb, 
but  resolutely,  almost  cruelly,  she  grasped  her  slipping 
determination. 

"  No,  no,  I  must  really  make  those  calls." 

"  I'm  sorry  that  you  won't  go,  Van,  that  you  con 
sider  the  calls  of  so  much  greater  importance.  It 
isn't  likely  that  we  shall  meet  again  in  a  long 
while." 

There  was  a  dying  fall  in  the  pathetic  music  of  his 
voice  that  touched  her  deeply,  that  went  throbbing 
through  her;  but  she  could  not  speak  the  right  word 
then,  even  if  it  meant  the  eternal  sealing  of  their  loves, 
even  if  afterwards  she  was  to  suffer  untold  punish 
ment  for  its  suppression. 

"  And  if  we  did  happen  to  meet,"  she  said,  flush 
ing  with  righteous  indignation,  "  you  probably 
wouldn't  recognize  me." 

She  did  not  give  his  startled  look  the  chance  to  ex 
press  its  surprise  in  an  answer,  but  continued  : 

"  There's  a  difference,  Blair,  between  recognizing 
and  knowing.  I  found  that  out  at  the  mills — the  last 
time  I  was  there." 

Her  small  face  grew  wistful,  her  features  were 
shadowed  by  an  expression  of  pain  that  eluded  her 
vigilance.  The  scene  of  her  meeting  with  Blair  in  the 
open-hearth  swept  across  her  vision,  and  for  that  mo 
ment  she  endured  all  the  agony  that  she  had  expe 
rienced  then. 

"  I  said  that  I  had  a  great  deal  to  say,  Van,  and 


204  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

that's  one  of  the  things  I  wish  to  speak  about  most," 
he  said,  sorrowfully. 

It  was  difficult  to  speak  freely  there,  in  that  con 
strained  position,  with  her  evident  hurry  and  an  eaves 
dropping  coachman  confronting  him.  If  she  would 
only  walk  into  the  open  spaces  of  the  park ! 

"  Oh,  it  would  be  very  interesting  to  hear  your  ex 
planation,  Blair ;  it  would  be  very  ingenious,  I  am  sure. 
You  were  always  so  clever  at  explaining.  I'm  so 
dreadfully  sorry  about  those  calls ;  if  I  had  only 
known  that  you  would  be  at  home  I  could  have  so 
easily  arranged  things.  But  then  you  can  call  on  me ; 
it's  your  turn,"  she  ended,  as  if  these  were  the  last 
words  of  a  conventional  departure ;  but  her  heart  beat 
fast,  and  she  feared  that  by  making  her  purpose  too 
apparent  she  betrayed  it ;  and  yet,  in  the  bewilder 
ment  of  her  emotional  inconsistency,  she  was  not  with 
out  the  hope  that  he  penetrated  her  motives. 

He  shook  his  head  emphatically,  lugubriously.  "  I 
can't  come,  Van." 

"Why  not?"  she  asked  archly.  "Are  you  going 
to  China  as  a  missionary  or  to  explore  Africa? 
Whither  now?  I  never  knew  just  what  you  were  go 
ing  to  do,  Blair." 

He  looked  as  if  he  were  about  to  speak,  but  he  said 
nothing.  She  waited  in  silence,  then  her  arm  moved, 
as  if  involuntarily,  towards  the  carriage  door.  Blair 
turned  the  handle. 

"  Will  those  two  ever  get  through  talking  non 
sense?"  thought  impatient  James  on  the  box. 

"  I  wonder  if  he  will  drive  away  with  her,"  thought 
the  anxious  gray-haired  lady  behind  the  curtains. 

Evangeline  stepped  inside  of  the  carriage  grace 
fully.  "  Good-by,  Blair,"  she  said,  coldly,  her  eyes 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME        205 

beaming  with  the  love  her  voice  choked.  "  I  love 
you;  I  love  you,"  they  said  plainly  enough;  but  Blair 
heard  only  the  tones  of  the  voice  and  read  not  the 
message  of  her  tell-tale  eyes. 

"  Good-by,  Van,"  he  answered,  with  a  plea  in  his 
farewell. 

The  carriage  door  slammed.  The  coachman 
flicked  the  back  of  his  bays  with  his  whip,  the  horses 
pranced  away. 

Evangeline's  face  drooped.  She  drew  the  white 
glove  from  her  right  hand,  and  twisted  it  with  fret 
ting  impulse.  Her  blue  eyes  were  moist.  "  Oh,  I 
was  too  severe,"  she  moaned.  "  I  paid  him  back  with 
too  heavy  an  interest.  Oh,  I  know  I  did.  He  did  not 
understand ;  he  thought  me  in  earnest.  I  wish  I  had 
gone  with  him.  Heaven  knows  what  he  will  do  next, 
where  he  will  go.  We  may  never  see  each  other 
again." 

Her  small  strong  body  trembled  convulsively.  She 
burst  into  tears. 


XIX 

BLAIR  RETURNS 

THE  batteries  of  public  opinion  opened  on 
Henry  Marvin ;  the  concentrated  bombard 
ment  against  one  individual  had  never  been 
heavier,  and  its  intensity  was  steadily  increasing.  Op 
probrium  varied  in  terms  that  ranged  from  financial 
charlatan  to  an  enemy  of  society,  from  a  scoundrel  to 
a  hater  of  his  kind.  There  seemed  no  exception  to 
the  chorus  of  denunciation. 

As  for  Marvin  himself  he  cared  little,  entering  it 
on  his  mental  ledger  to  debit  the  credit  of  his  now 
fabulous  fortune.  In  business  all  was  fair ;  he  had 
simply  outgambled  the  gamblers.  He  was  elated 
by  the  shrewdest,  most  daring  move  that  had  ever 
been  played  on  the  chess-board  of  finance.  Thou 
sands  had  lost,  hundreds  were  irretrievably  ruined ; 
but  modern  commerce  and  modern  war,  to  his  way 
of  thinking,  were  the  same ;  the  point  was  to  win 
your  battle,  slaughter  and  ruin  were  but  steps  to  vic 
tory.  War  was  simply  the  science  of  killing,  and  if 
there  were  no  slaughter  war  would  be  no  science — a 
mere  innocuous  game  for  children  and  fools  to  play. 

On  the  evening  of  that  same  afternoon  in  which  he 
met  Evangeline,  Blair  learned  from  the  newspapers 
that  the  hungry  hordes  at  the  mills  were  threatening 
violence.  There  was  an  extended  account  of  how  the 

206 


BLAIR  RETURNS  207 

most  reckless  had  defied  the  police  and  hurled  brick 
and  slag  through  the  windows  of  the  office.  An  in 
offensive  clerk  had  been  waylaid  on  his  return  from 
work  and  beaten. 

The  report  appalled  Blair ;  even  all  thoughts  of 
Evangel ine,  insistent  though  they  were,  had  been 
shocked  out  of  his  mind  by  the  tidings  that  might 
prove  so  injurious  to  his  cause.  Hot  heads  and  bad 
hearts  might  undo  in  a  few  days  all  the  good  he  had 
accomplished  by  his  long  arduous  labor.  The  time  was 
decisive  and  critical.  He  must  return  or  abandon  his 
high  emprise  forever — there  was  no  middle  road. 

Sleep  was  not  for  him  that  night;  the  mattress 
seemed  stuffed  with  needles,  his  pillow  with  pebbles. 
It  was  a  battle  royal  between  home-ties  and  his  yearn 
ing  love  for  the  humble,  oppressed  people  at  the  mills. 
No  thought  of  Martha  vexed  him  now ;  for,  since  his 
meeting  with  Evangeline,  he  was  certain  that  she  was 
not  the  magnet  that  drew  his  thoughts  towards 
Marvin. 

He  would  back  to  his  post,  to  the  suffering  and 
wronged  thousands  who  had  chosen  him  with  silent 
vote  for  their  captain.  And  yet  others  nearer  and 
dearer  than  they  were  calling  upon  him  too ;  father 
and  mother  were  beseeching  him  not  to  leave  them 
alone  now  that  the  night  had  come  and  the  one  could 
not  work,  now  that  old  age  would  soon  come  and  find 
the  other  helpless. 

Was  it  for  him  cruelly  to  pull  the  arm  away  upon 
which  they  leaned  ?  What  though  he  gained  the 
world  for  others,  and  set  his  soul  adrift  from  them? 
What  were  world-ties  when  weighed  in  the  balance 
with  the  endearing  ties  of  home?  After  all  what  was 
this  tourney  in  the  lists  of  which  he  had  entered  as 


208  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

a  militant  knight?  Was  it  not,  perhaps,  a  snare  that 
fancy  spread  to  entrap  the  quixotic  imagination  ? 
Was  it  actual,  was  it  there?  If  it  was,  if  he  was  not 
the  dupe  of  his  own  duplicity,  if  labor  and  capital 
were  arrayed  for  decisive  struggle,  by  what  right  had 
he  appointed  himself  a  David  to  slay  the  Goliath  ?  His 
stone  might,  it  probably  would,  prove  a  pebble,  his 
slung-shot  a  twig,  and  the  giant  would  crush  him  as 
he  had  countless  millions,  between  a  thumb  and  a 
finger. 

No,  no,  and  no  again,  he  would  stay.  At  home  his 
duty  was  defined  and  clear;  effort  could  not  be  void 
of  accomplishment ;  there,  at  the  mills,  it  was  vague, 
passing  into  the  bounds  of  the  Utopian  and  the  chi 
merical.  He  was  flying,  like  a  fool  of  fortune,  from 
the  good  at  hand  to  the  evil  of  which  he  knew  naught. 

He  recalled  Heine's  dictum,  "  Where  one  is  born, 
there  one  belongs,"  and  he  wondered  if  he  would  not 
play  his  part  best  by  confining  his  action  to  the  stage 
at  home.  Poles,  Croatians,  Hungarians,  Lithuanians, 
— this  horde  swarming  from  realms  afar — had  he  the 
right  to  desert  kith  and  kin  to  lead  them  ? 

The  scene  in  the  office  of  a  day  or  two  ago  drove 
home  now  with  renewed  force ;  he  saw  his  sire,  worn 
and  dimmed  by  age ;  he  heard  his  quavering  voice  and 
his  words  thrilled  him,  resurging  in  his  heart,  like 
waves  that  had  hurtled  back  to  break  forward, 
"  Blair,  I'm  getting  old — I  suppose  you  noticed  it.  I 
need  help.  I  can't  last  forever.  Some  one  ought  to 
go  on  with  the  business  if  anything  should  happen  to 
me  for  the  sake  of  your  mother  and  sisters  and 
brothers."  And  his  mother — the  idea  of  leaving  her 
made  his  thoughts  turn  dizzy  and  stagger. 

Suddenly,   in  the  stillness  of  that  night,   the  ma- 


BLAIR  RETURNS  209 

chinery  of  the  rail-mill  roared  its  challenge ;  it  cried 
him  coward.  It  sneered  with  knowingness  at  his 
malingering  absence.  The  scarlet  rails  glided  over 
•the  rolls,  the  ingots  breathed  out  their  incarnadining 
flame,  bellowing  as  they  were  dragged  and  crushed 
into  shape;  car  and  crane  were  moving  back  and 
forth,  the  saws  were  tossing  their  shower  of  sparks 
tumultuously  up.  Oh,  he  must  back!  His  voice 
should  be  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  march  of  this 
moving,  creating  machinery. 

To-day  the  men  had  been  threatening  to  attack  the 
mills;  already  they  had  hurled  missiles  through  the 
windows  of  the  offices.  What  might  they  not  do  on 
the  morrow?  And  if  their  threats  were  put  into  exe 
cution?  If  Sophia  Goldstein  and  her  anarchic  fol 
lowers  were  once  in  command,  should  they  gain  the 
upper  hand  and  burst  all  bonds  of  control,  the  toilers 
would  serve  as  mere  brands  wherewith  to  light  the 
fires  that  were  to  destroy  the  world.  The  time  was 
opportune.  What  if  she  should  uproot  his  work  and 
supplant  the  good  he  had  done  with  the  evil  she  wished 
to  do !  He  recalled  the  woman's  boast,  "  It's  the  last 
day  that  counts,  my  friend."  He  would  not  slink 
away,  he  would  be  there  to  meet  her  when  that  time 
came.  He  would  return.  After  all,  envisage  the 
problem  how  he  would,  humanity  was  more  than 
home. 

The  dawn  broke.  Lake  winds  rustled  outside, 
shaking  the  snow  from  the  creaking  branches  of  the 
elms.  The  daylight  grew  bolder  and  peeped  into  the 
face  of  the  darkness.  The  sun  arose  and  saluted  the 
morning.  Blair  dressed. 

Would  it  not  be  wiser  to  decamp  from  the  house 
before  the  servants  were  astir,  let  his  parents  surmise 
'4 


210  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

the  reason  of  his  parting,  and  save  them  and  himself 
the  pain  of  a  formal  farewell?  He  shook  his  head 
sternly,  angry  at  himself  for  harboring  the  thought 
for  an  instant. 

At  breakfast  Blair  was  quiet,  even  solemn.  His 
bearing  for  those  few  days  prepared  his  parents  for 
his  decision,  and  they  were  grieved  rather  than  sur 
prised  when  he  announced  his  intentions.  His 
mother  sobbed  aloud  at  first,  then  she  regained  her 
composure  and  said,  "  You  know  best,  Blair." 

"  Well,  Blair/'  remarked  the  father,  "  I've  said  all 
I  could  on  that  score,  and  if  you  insist  upon  going  we 
can't  keep  you,  only  I  hope  it  won't  be  for  long,"  and 
Carrhart  senior  tried  to  conceal  his  pain  with  a 
smile,  but  the  attempt  was  far  from  successful. 

"  I  hope  not,"  was  all  that  Blair  could  answer. 

Then  came  the  leave-taking  and  Blair  almost  broke 
down  as  his  mother  did  and  as  his  father  was  on  the 
point  of  doing,  he  felt  so  old  and  lonely  and  helpless 
at  his  son's  departure.  Blair's  heart  was  wrung  and 
he  quite  wished  that  he  might  change  his  resolution, 
but  that  seemed  beyond  his  power,  so  he  stood  there 
pale  and  trembling,  repeating,  "  I'll  be  back  perhaps 
before  you  expect  it." 

Blair's  mother  went  with  him  to  the  door,  clasping 
him,  fondling  him  as  if  her  eyes  were  never  to  rest 
on  his  beloved  countenance  again,  and  surely  no  son 
ever  went  forth  to  any  task  whatsoever  with  maternal 
blessing  more  fervent. 

When  Blair  reached  Marvin  the  mills  had  already 
opened ;  the  unforeseen  had  entered  into  the  situation 
and  made  the  president  recede  from  the  lofty  pedestal 
of  indifference  on  which  he  had  mounted.  The  enemy 
had  an  allied  cohort  more  invincible  than  any  of  the 


BLAIR  RETURNS  211 

forces  Marvin  had  yet  encountered.  The  stability 
and  the  future  of  the  North- Western  mills  were  threat 
ened.  Brokers,  stock-jobbers,  investors,  speculators, 
were  arrayed  against  "  the  unscrupulous  juggler  "  of 
the  market.  They  threatened  never  to  deal  in  the  stocks 
of  the  Company  again  unless  its  "  piratical  presi 
dent  "  resigned.  His  explanation  of  the  shut-down, 
his  plea  of  an  over-production,  were  disregarded,  not 
even  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt. 

The  directors  and  officers  of  the  Company  were 
aroused  to  the  ominous  gravity  of  the  situation,  de 
claring  (one  or  two  of  them  in  good  faith)  that  the 
"  deal  "  was  consummated  without  their  cognizance. 
The  banks,  which  were  heavy  holders  of  the  stock, 
proclaimed  their  intention  of  joining  forces  with  the 
other  dissatisfied  stock-holders. 

The  business  of  the  country  was  disturbed  by  the 
disaster  which  filched  gold  from  every  nook  and  cor 
ner  of  the  land  to  pour  it  into  Marvin's  pockets.  Iron 
is  the  quicksilver  in  the  barometer  of  trade;  its  rise 
and  fall  register  the  changes  of  the  commercial  at 
mosphere;  merchants  set  their  sails  by  its  predictions. 
Marvin's  maneuver  —  an  artificial  pressure  of  the 
bulb — brought  the  price  of  the  metal  down  with  an 
almost  unbelievable  rapidity;  commodities  of  all  de 
scriptions  followed  its  course.  The  tendency  of  all 
prices  was  downward. 

A  meeting  of  the  directors  was  called;  stormy  and 
recriminative,  according  to  the  papers ;  and  it  was 
made  known,  through  the  same  sources,  that  the  pres 
ident's  resignation  had  been  demanded.  The  North- 
Western  mills  opened  as  suddenly  and  with  as  little 
warning  as  they  had  shut  down.  The  restorative 
news  was  telegraphed  from  East  to  West;  public 


212  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

confidence — a  medium  as  necessary  for  exchange  as 
money  itself — regained  a  solid  footing;  the  markets 
steadied ;  the  prelusive  squall  passed  without  a  storm. 

Marvin  retained  his  presidency.  He  had  buttered 
the  bread  of  the  more  powerful  directors,  it  was  said, 
and  they  were  too  discerning  to  kick  over  the  churn 
that  made  their  butter.  Whatever  the  agency  of  his 
retention,  he  was  still  there,  sphinx-like,  inscrutable, 
inflexible,  merciless,  the  iron  guardian  of  the  fate  and 
future  of  the  mills  which  his  energies  and  abilities 
had  raised  to  such  importance. 

Angry,  suspicious,  mistrustful,  the  men  returned. 
They  were  fearful  of  they  knew  not  what  and  the 
feeling  that  they  must  rebel  or  be  crushed,  and  that  a 
rebellion  alone  would  save  them  from  the  crushing, 
gained  ground  hourly.  It  needed  but  the  word  of  a 
commander  and  the  revolt  would  begin.  Old  wounds 
were  opened  and  left  smarting  by  this  last  administra 
tion  of  injustice.  The  back  of  the  patient  camel  was 
laden  to  breaking — if  but  one  more  straw  were  piled 
thereon ! 


XX 

THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR 

FEBRUARY  dwindled  away  slowly,  marked 
only,  made  important  only,  by  the  grim  fact 
that  the  Company  rejected  the  scales,  over 
which  there  had  been  so  many  consultations  and 
squabbles  with  the  committee  from  the  local  lodges. 
Then  came  conferences  after  conferences,  and  bicker 
ings,  virulent  and  sharp,  all  sterile  in  results.  There 
was  the  threat  of  open  hostilities,  and  finally  the 
Company  agreed  to  prepare  a  scale  of  its  own  and 
place  it  before  the  men  for  acceptance  or  rejec 
tion. 

So  spring  came.  The  hard  winter,  the  freezing 
winds,  the  severe  cold  were  past.  The  thick  sheeting 
of  ice  melted  away  on  the  low  flat  prairie  land  and 
inundated  the  tenements  of  the  toilers,  like  an  over 
flowing  river.  The  battle  against  the  wintry  air  was 
over,  the  battle  against  the  floods  of  spring  began. 
The  hundreds  who  were  crippled  with  rheumatic 
fevers  and  pains  cursed  the  spring  and  regretted  the 
winter,  which  they  had  cursed  with  equal  volubility 
in  its  turn. 

At  the  home  of  the  Brodskis  little  Adam  lay  ill  to 
death,  and  Mary  and  Anna  were  confined  to  bed  with 
fever  and  chills.  The  bills  for  doctor  and  medicine 
piled  up,  and  Mrs.  Brodski,  dragging  her  squabby, 

2I3 


2i4  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

rheumatic  body  through  the  water  on  the  floors, 
sobbed  fretfully  at  each  increase  in  the  ruinous  pile. 
Thomas  had  taken  Paul's  place  as  water-boy,  and  he 
was  busily  at  work  in  the  mills ;  but  his  extra  pit 
tance  was  of  little  moment  in  the  assuagement  of  the 
added  misery. 

The  real-estate  office  of  the  Company  was  besieged 
by  a  host  of  clamoring  Polish  women  in  black  shawls, 
all  beseeching  instant  repairs  and  immediate  relief 
against  the  steady  flow  of  the  inpouring  water ;  but 
the  Company  held  fast  to  its  old  stand  that  the  im 
provements  be  made  at  the  expense  of  the  tenant,  and 
a  deaf  ear  was  turned  to  all  entreaties  and  mutters  of 
discontent. 

Turned  out  of  the  offices,  the  women  gathered  on 
the  prairie  and  scathed  the  Company  vehemently. 
The  men  were  cowards,  they  shrieked ;  their  hus 
bands  should  be  up  in  arms  against  such  tyrannical 
imposition ;  they  should  demand  their  rights,  and  if 
the  demand  were  denied,  they  should  end  the  out 
rageous  injustice  by  force  and  brawn,  by  a  strike  if 
need  be.  And  if  a  strike  came  could  their  depriva 
tion  be  worse  than  it  was  ?  It  was  merely  a  question 
between  a  morsel  of  bread  and  no  bread  at  all ;  and 
if  the  strike  were  but  won  how  might  all  be  changed 
for  the  better.  Ah,  if  they  were  only  men!  As  to 
Mr.  Carrhart,  the  big  American,  and  his  promises, 
they  were  tired  of  both.  His  were  fine  words,  but 
they  produced  nothing.  Patience  and  order  he  coun 
seled,  but  what  came  out  of  this  patience  and  order? 
Had  they  not  been  patient  and  orderly  and  long- 
suffering  enough?  Once  a  belated  rent-collector  fell 
into  a  savage  group  of  disgruntled  viragos  and  he 
was  forced  to  run  for  his  life,  with  clothes  torn  and 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     215 

body  bleeding.  It  was  an  example  for  their  hus 
bands  to  follow,  they  said ;  the  men  were  altogether 
too  slow  and  meek. 

But  even  the  moan  against  the  enforced  repairs  and 
the  exorbitant  rents  sank  into  insignificance  beside  the 
panic-stricken  fears  of  a  universal  reduction  in 
wages ;  sank  within  it,  one  might  say,  as  a  pebble 
sinks  into  a  great  pool  and  is  lost  in  its  depths.  Rifer 
and  louder  waxed  the  daily  rumor  that  the  Company 
had  lowered  the  basis  on  which  the  scales  were  com 
puted.  The  last  of  April  brought  the  publication  of 
the  Company's  figures  and  proved  that  rumor  had 
spoken  true,  not  even  with  its  customary  exaggera 
tion.  Nay,  the  truth  proclaimed  one  staggering 
threat,  at  which  the  boldest  rumor  would  not  even 
have  had  the  courage  to  hint — the  Company  declared 
the  last  week  in  June  as  the  latest  date  on  which  it 
would  treat  with  any  committee  from  the  Amalga 
mated  Association;  after  that  time  it  would  disregard 
the  unions  entirely,  and  treat  with  the  men  as  individ 
uals  only. 

A  howl  of  desperation  and  a  cry  for  summary 
vengeance  greeted  the  ultimatum.  So  they  must 
either  accept  the  Company's  starvation  wages  or  ac 
cede  to  the  obliteration  of  the  unions.  No,  let  it  be 
either  starvation  or  the  unions,  never  starvation  with 
out  the  unions ! 

A  word  of  explanation  about  the  scales :  wages 
are  based  on  the  market  price  of  Bessemer  billets ; 
they  form  the  standard  of  wages.  If  billets  go  up, 
up  go  wages ;  if  billets  go  down,  wages  travel  in  the 
same  direction. 

The  last  scales  issued  by  the  Company  reduced  the 
minimum  figure,  in  vogue  for  the  last  four  years,  by 


2i 6  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

three  dollars  a  ton.  The  cut  in  wages,  resulting 
therefrom,  would  be  enormous. 

Moreover,  finished  steel  products  were  unusually 
high  that  year,  billets  were  unusually  low.  The  two 
should  go  together  like  the  bobbing  of  a  cork  with 
the  tugging  of  a  fish.  But  the  fishing  tackle,  it  was 
openly  charged  in  the  lodge  meetings,  had  been  jug 
gled  with.  Marvin  had  influenced  legislation  at 
Washington ;  there  was  a  high  tariff  on  the  finished 
product  of  the  infant  industry  and  a  disproportion 
ately  low  tariff  on  the  billets — the  infant  of  the  in 
dustry.  The  Company  had  a  two-edged  sword. 

Hitherto  either  side  gave  the  other  warning  in 
January  that  a  change  in  the  scales  was  to  be  made 
by  agreement  in  June.  Now  the  Company  demanded 
that  this  order  be  reversed ;  henceforth  the  demand 
was  to  be  made  in  June,  the  differences  were  to  be 
settled  in  January.  This  put  a  shield  behind  the 
sword.  Winter  and  rough  weather  are  deadly  ene 
mies  to  strikes. 

Cold  and  Hunger  are  the  citadel  and  cannon  of 
capital.  The  men  would  eagerly  accept  in  the  winter 
what  they  would  sneer  at  in  the  summer.  This  was 
the  one  change  which  engendered  the  most  bitterness 
and  aroused  the  greatest  indignation.  No  matter 
what  the  hazard,  no  matter  how  great  the  cost,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  shifting  of  dates  should  not  be  con 
ceded. 

Marvin,  who  had  planned  the  campaign  for  the 
Company,  carried  things  with  his  own  hand  and  a 
high  one.  He  relied  on  one  mighty  ally  to  carry  his 
demands — the  rolling-mills  of  the  entire  United 
States.  He  was  willing  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  bat 
tle  and  allow  the  others  to  share  equally  in  the  fruits 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     217 

of  the  victory,  if  they  would  come  to  his  assistance. 
The  fruits  were  a  temptation,  and  the  other  mills 
were  tempted.  Everywhere  pregnant  statements 
made  first  a  cautious,  then  a  bold,  then  a  still  bolder 
appearance,  asserting  that  the  condition  of  the  steel- 
and-iron-market  rendered  the  payment  of  the  previous 
year's  wages  impossible.  Pennsylvania  took  the  in 
itiative  with  the  manifesto  of  a  reduction  in  wages 
ranging  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent.  The  other 
states  followed,  whipped  into  line  by  competition. 
Marvin  was  confident  of  an  easy  victory. 

And  so  the  spring,  full  of  significance,  passed 
slowly,  and  handed  the  irate  gloomy  toilers  over  to 
the  ravage  of  summer.  Never,  so  it  was  declared  on 
all  sides,  was  such  a  June  known  in  Marvin.  The 
heat  poured  down  into  the  mills  from  the  blazing  sun 
and  swirled  upwards  from  the  furnaces  and  the  boil 
ers,  and  the  heavy  clouds  of  smoke,  hanging  over  the 
yards,  gave  it  no  chance  for  escape,  blanketing  it  in 
between  the  scorching  earth  and  the  flaming  air. 
When  the  ingots,  scarlet  hot,  rolled  through  the  yards 
on  the  flat-bottomed  cars  the  yard  hands — the 
"  mules  "  of  the  mill — protected  their  burning  faces 
with  their  hats  and  puffed  for  breath. 

Men  fell,  overcome  and  prostrated,  before  the 
hearths  and  the  furnaces  and  the  boiler-houses.  The 
hospital  was  crowded.  Leverrnen  in  the  rail-mill 
grew  dizzy,  reeled  and  stretched  out  a  nerveless  hand 
to  grasp  the  framework  and  keep  from  falling;  firsts 
and  seconds  changed  turns  every  twenty  minutes. 
With  every  variation  of  light  and  shifting  breezes 
from  the  lake  and  the  prairie  some  spot  in  the  vast 
works  became  a  hell,  and  others  were  given  the 
respite  of  a  minute's  relief.  Men  over  the  gas  pits, 


2i  8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

men  in  the  charging  and  pouring  floors  oi  the  cupola 
and  spiegel  furnaces,  fell  to  the  ground  in  a  faint,  un 
able  to  endure  the  storm  of  heat  swept  into  their 
faces  and  lungs. 

The  suppressed  excitement  wound  the  tension  of 
groaning  nerves  to  the  snapping  point.  Expectancy 
quivered  from  man  to  man  and  from  place  to  place, 
from  building  to  building,  like  the  heat  itself,  in  pal 
pitating  waves.  Rumors,  black  and  depressing,  floated 
through  the  mills  heavily ;  the  men  wrent  to  their  work 
in  the  morning  expecting  to  be  apprised  of  a  strike  or 
a  lock-out  before  evening.  The  five  thousand  hands 
stood  trembling  over  an  explosive  mine,  waiting  with 
bated  breath  for  the  decisive  moment.  The  strike, 
like  the  panic,  has  its  psychology,  the  very  fear  of  the 
thing  to  come  stirs  men  to  bring  about  the  perpetra 
tion  of  the  thing  they  fear. 

An  incident,  which  occurred  at  this  time,  proves  the 
last  assertion.  Winslow  was  removed  from  the 
superintendency  of  the  blast-furnaces  at  the  south  end 
of  the  yards  to  those  at  the  north.  The  man  who  was 
placed  in  Winslow's  old  position  was  not  nearly  so 
popular  as  his  predecessor,  and  on  one  glowing  hot 
day  when  there  was  prostration  after  prostration,  the 
heaters  charged  the  new  boss  with  wilfully  overheat 
ing  the  furnaces,  and  they  quit  work  in  a  body,  with 
out  a  second's  warning  to  the  authorities.  The  ex 
tremity  was  horrible;  the  unattended  furnaces  might 
explode  any  second.  The  gates  were  shut  and  the 
malcontents  were  refused  egress.  The  strikers  were 
cajoled  and  threatened,  a  hand-to-hand  encounter  be 
tween  the  men  and  the  guards  seemed  imminent ; 
finally  Winslow  was  reinstalled,  and  the  heaters  re 
turned  to  the  furnaces. 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     219 

As  the  days  rolled  on  Marvin  was  not  so  confident 
that  his  victory  would  be  easy.  Over  two  months  had 
gone,  and  the  men  had  not  lifted  the  finger  of  willing 
ness  to  show  that  they  were  ready  either  to  accept  his 
figures  or  recede  from  their  own. 

He  prepared  for  battle.  He  would  not  be  caught 
sleeping  when  the  first  shot  was  fired ;  and  he  would 
be  in  a  commanding  position  to  attack  the  enemy  if 
they  opened  hostilities, 

Gangs  of  carpenters  raised  the  height  of  the  board 
fences  surrounding  the  mills.  Barbed  wire  topped 
the  whole.  Small  round  holes  were  cut  at  spaced  in 
tervals.  High  platforms  were  erected  near  the  tallest 
buildings.  New  faces  appeared  in  the  mills ;  men 
whose  only  function,  it  seemed,  was  to  move  from 
point  to  poinL 

All  this  had  the  air  of  preparation  for  a  siege,  of 
a  carefully  planned  movement  on  the  eve  of  battle. 
The  men  looked  on,  aggravated,  vexed,  sullen, 
alarmed ;  ready  to  drop  their  tools  at  a  word  of  com 
mand  and  inarch  against  these  fortifications.  The 
fence,  they  cried,  was  a  battlement;  the  loopholes, 
places  for  gatling  guns ;  the  raised  platforms,  sta 
tions  for  sentries  and  search-lights ;  and  the  strange 
faces  were  those  of  detectives  and  spies, 

Why  were  their  leaders  so  slow?  What  did  they 
mean  ?  Why  was  not  the  alarm  sounded  ?  the  right  to 
resist  given  ?  Were  they  to  be  taken  like  rats  in  a 
trap  r 

Excitement  waxed  fever  hot.  The  men  gathered 
around  the  pumps  in  the  yard  and  talked  in  angry 
whispers ;  a  stranger  slouched  towards  them  and  they 
disappeared,  muttering  terrible  imprecations.  They 
counseled  inside  of  the  mills,  in  the  intervals  between 


220  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

work,  louder  and  bolder,  still  with  a  degree  of  cir 
cumspection,  watching  for  the  approach  of  the  spies, 
the  loathsome  "  scab  "  watchmen. 

At  night  they  assembled  around  the  fences,  peeped 
within  through  the  holes,  wondering  if  cannon  were 
not  being  placed  in  position.  The  moving  of  the 
most  trifling  article  in  the  mill  after  the  blowing  of  the 
six-o'clock  whistles  was  cause  for  the  gravest  fears. 

Gatekeepers,  watchmen,  drove  the  men  away  with, 
"  Come,  boys,  move  along,"  and  they  departed,  to 
meet  farther  off  in  the  open  prairie  and  listen  to  in 
cendiary  speeches  from  radical  orators.  In  the  homes, 
on  the  porches,  in  the  back-yards,  at  all  hours  of  the 
night  and  day,  gesticulating  groups  huddled  together 
to  discuss  the  situation.  Firebrands  were  lit  at  the 
hearthstones,  as  it  were,  and  passed  from  hand  to 
hand. 

In  the  rooms  of  the  union  lodges,  Blair,  Winslow 
and  the  conservative  ones  did  their  utmost  to  hold  a  re 
straining  hand  against  the  opening  of  the  floodgates, 
which  the  rabid  ones  (ever  in  the  majority)  strained  to 
fling  apart  that  the  raging  waters  might  pour  in  and 
deluge  the  mills. 

Blair  ran  the  risk  of  losing  his  popularity,  of  being 
supplanted  by  a  hotter  and  a  weaker  head,  but  his  un 
failing  good  humor,  his  calm  logic,  his  unruffled  elo 
quence,  his  reputation,  stemmed  the  insurrection 
against  his  authority  and  put  the  ringleaders  to  shame. 

Blair's  constant  plea  was  for  caution  and  care.  He 
debated  the  advisability  of  letting  the  Company  take 
the  initiative,  if  that  initiative  were  wrong  the  men 
would  gain  the  sympathy  of  public  opinion,  the  only 
strong  ally  upon  which  they  could  count.  Moreover, 
until  the  twenty-fourth,  when  they  were  to  hold  the 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     221 

final  consultation  with  the  Company,  they  had  no  moral 
right  to  declare  a  strike. 

Again  the  canny  Winslow  breathed  a  word  of  cau 
tion  at  the  decisive  moment,  "  You've  said  enough, 
now,  Carrhart ;  keep  still  and  let  the  others  quarrel 
among  themselves,  and  when  the  time  comes  you'll  be 
on  top." 

The  strike  was  an  abhorrent  thing  to  Blair ;  it  was 
a  mean  reality  that  threatened  to  demolish  his  fine, 
long-cherished  dream.  He  fulminated  against  it  at 
the  socialistic  meetings,  he  strove  to  prove  that  the 
use  of  force  was  incompatible  with  their  doctrines, 
that  if  the  one  flourished  the  other  must  die ;  but  his 
oratory  availed  nothing,  the  men  listened  impatiently 
and  under  protest.  The  strike  promised  quick  re 
sults  ;  and  as  the  insufferable  months  had  dragged  on 
they  lost  more  and  more  faith  in  Blair's  Cooperative 
Commonwealth,  between  the  realization  of  which  and 
the  unendurable  present  whole  years  might  elapse. 
They  had  been  patient  and  long-suffering  enough,  and 
the  fleshpots  under  their  noses  were  far  more  tempt 
ing  than  the  milk  and  honey  of  the  far-off  promised 
land.  Numbers  remained  away  from  the  meetings 
that  they  might  attend  Sophia  Goldstein's  public  dia 
tribes,  which  they  were  finding  more  to  their  tastes 
and  the  needs  of  the  hour. 

Meanwhile,  looking  probabilities  squarely  in  the 
face,  Blair  prepared  for  the  worst,  should  the  worst 
come  to  the  worst.  He  spent  every  spare  moment  in 
studying,  planning  and  figuring.  He  drew  an  accu 
rate  map  of  the  mill  and  the  surrounding  country. 
The  Company's  ground  was  made  impregnable  by 
the  lake,  the  slip  of  Steel  river  and  the  high  board 
fences.  There  was  but  one  weak  point — where  the 


222  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

car  tracks  cut  through  the  yards  and  ran  out  to  join 
the  main  lines  of  the  railroads.  The  Company  would 
undoubtedly  protect  that  in  due  time.  Blair  made 
financial  estimates,  counting  up  all  that  he  could  count 
upon. 

Correspondence,  the  new  work,  visits,  meetings,  toil 
at  the  mills,  began  to  tell  on  even  Blair's  gigantesque 
mold,  and  the  flesh  that  clung  to  his  bones  grew 
thinner  and  thinner ;  and,  added  thereto,  the  stress  and 
worry,  induced  by  his  unusual  responsibilities,  fretted 
his  tranquillity  of  spirits. 

One  day  in  the  middle  of  June  was  important  in  the 
calendar  of  the  trouble.  Representatives  from  the 
Amalgamated  Association  from  the  entire  United 
States  convened  at  Chicago  to  consider  measures 
against  the  evils  which  threatened  the  steel-and-iron 
workers. 

Marvin  was  far-sighted  and  wise  enough  to  know 
that  if  the  manufacturers  united  to  defeat  the  work- 
ingmen,  that  the  workingmen  would  join  forces  to 
battle  against  the  manufacturers ;  but  he  rested  un 
disturbed  in  his  conviction  that  capital  would  present 
the  stronger  union  of  the  two.  He  expected  this  con 
vention  of  the  Association ;  unconcerned,  he  awaited 
its  results. 

The  Amalgamated  Association  at  once  made  com 
mon  cause  with  their  fellows  of  the  North-Western 
Company.  They  would  stand  or  fall  together.  The 
delegates  from  the  Company  submitted  their  scales  to 
the  convention  and  they  received  the  abetment  of  the 
Association  to  insist  upon  the  old  minimum  rate  as 
the  basis  for  wages.  Moreover,  the  Association  gave 
the  local  lodges  of  Marvin  the  option  of  declaring  a 
strike  and  bound  itself  to  give  financial  assistance. 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     223 

The  unusual  amount  of  business,  the  consideration 
of  various  wage  scales  from  different  sections  of  the 
country,  local  difficulties  with  a  thousand  and  one 
manufacturers,  protracted  the  meeting  of  the  Associa 
tion  to  an  undue  length,  provoking  it  often  to  a  storm - 
scene,  an  unruly  mob,  with  the  chairman  struggling  to 
maintain  order  and  make  his  voice  heard. 

When  the  convention  finished  the  general  wage  scale 
for  iron-and-steel  mills,  and  presented  it  to  the  manu 
facturers,  the  latter  rejected  it  and  sent  back  a  scale 
of  their  own.  The  war  waged  bitterly  and  stub 
bornly;  no  agreement,  no  compromise,  seemed  pos 
sible.  The  country  was  on  the  eve  of  a  general 
strike. 

At  the  North- Western  mills,  the  work  went  on  day 
and  night,  Sunday  and  week-days,  as  busily  as  ever, 
excitement  ever  flamed  to  the  point  of  turbulence, 
and  the  agonizing  heat  and  the  brutalizing  labor 
poured  no  cooling  water  on  burning  temperaments. 

The  leaders  foresaw  that  an  outlet  must  be  found 
for  this  seething  anger  or  it  might  burst  its  bounds 
and  explode  before  its  force  could  be  utilized  and  di 
rected  towards  a  useful  end. 

The  local  lodges  called  a  meeting  at  the  "  Star 
Opera  House "  at  Marvin.  The  place  was  packed, 
aisles,  seats,  stairways — not  an  available  inch  was  left 
for  the  belated.  Many  delegates  to  the  national  con 
vention  came  from  Chicago  to  attend  the  local  meet 
ing,  and  a  preponderant  percentage  from  the  mills 
was  there.  Blair  was  appointed  chairman. 

"Mind  now,"  cautioned  Winslow,  "no  speaking; 
your  time  hasn't  come  yet." 

For  once  Blair  let  his  friend's  advice  pass  un 
heeded;  he  had  an  idea  of  his  own  on  that  score  to- 


224  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

night.  His  mind  had  been  busy  even  beyond  prece 
dent  for  the  last  few  days.  He  would  speak  and  he 
was  certain  that  the  audience  would  listen.  '  They 
must  listen,  that's  all  there  is  about  it,"  he  had  said  to 
himself. 

The  first  speakers,  although  pleading  with  the 
leaders  to  adhere  to  their  position  firmly  and  tena 
ciously,  counseled  law  and  order.  The  listeners 
growled  and  scowled ;  dark  foreign  faces  loomed  up 
savagely  in  the  large  auditorium.  They  were  disap 
pointed,  it  was  all  too  church-like,  too  solemn.  They 
were  not  seeking  that  kind  of  advice.  Pent-up  feel 
ings  demanded  an  inspiriting  address  that  would 
awaken  their  lungs  to  cry  off  the  wrath  thai  was  eat 
ing  their  hearts.  They  grew  restless,  there  was  a 
moving  about,  a  turning  around,  a  stamping  of  feet, 
an  open  muttering,  sporadic  curses. 

The  next  speakers  warmed  up  to  the  demand  of 
the  moment,  carefully  at  first,  then  with  less  restraint. 
They  denounced  capital  and  its  methods,  spoke  of  the 
long  slavery  of  labor,  hinted  at  a  day  of  reckoning. 
This  pleased  the  auditors  better  and  they  cheered 
faintly.  It  was  not  exactly  what  they  wished,  but 
gradually  their  desire  was  being  approached. 

The  moment  had  come  for  Blair ;  a  few  minutes 
ago  it  would  have  been  too  early,  a  minute  after 
wards  it  would  be  too  late.  More  radical  speeches 
would  make  his  less  effective,  and  the  audience  was 
just  at  that  heat  where  a  little  fanning  would  make 
flame. 

Blair  surrendered  his  gavel  to  Ben  Judson.  The 
multitude  in  the  hall  cheered  lustily  the  moment  it 
discovered  that  Blair  would  make  an  address.  He 
was  the  general  favorite  of  the  mill  and  they  expected 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR     225 

great  things.     Their  cheers  were  a  warning  as  well 
as  a  welcome. 

Blair  had  his  audience,  like  his  voice,  under  per 
fect  control,  carrying  it  where  he  listed.  Earnestness 
and  conviction  shot  from  the  man  and  radiated 
through  the  hall.  He  was  not  speaking  to  an  as 
sembly  but  to  so  many  individuals.  Each  felt  as  if 
he  were  addressed  separately.  Every  man  knew  the 
speaker  and  loved  him. 

First  of  all  Blair  dwelt  on  the  gravity  of  the  issue ; 
of  the  tremendous  interests  involved,  the  great  for 
tunes,  the  multitudes  of  workers.  He  lifted  the  af 
fair,  with  one  jerk,  as  it  were,  out  of  its  local  setting 
and  placed  it  in  the  vast  frame  formed  by  the  bound 
aries  of  the  Union.  Then  he  spoke  of  the  impor 
tance  of  the  worker  as  a  voter,  of  his  numerical  su 
premacy  ;  as  the  workingman  cast  his  ballot,  the  elec 
tion  went.  He  pointed  out  the  suggestiveness  of  the 
fact  that  while  they  were  holding  their  meeting,  the 
national  Democratic  and  Republican  conventions  were 
in  session. 

He  hastened  on  to  a  swift  review  of  the  tariff  bill, 
so  lately  enacted.  Had  it  conserved  or  defrauded 
their  interests?  Did  the  Republican  tariff  bill  benefit 
labor  as  it  had  promised  or  did  it  subsidize  capital 
dishonestly?  He  gave  a  few  figures — just  a  few- 
enough,  however,  to  make  it  clear  that  the  standard  of 
their  wages — steel  billets — had  not  the  proportionate 
protection  meted  out  to  the  finished  products  of  the 
mill.  He  made  it  incisively  clear  that  the  Company 
controlled  the  billet  market,  and  since  wages  were 
based  on  the  price  of  billets,  it  was  in  the  power  of  cap 
ital,  abetted  by  governmental  aid,  to  place  wages  where 
it  chose. 
15 


226  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Four  years  ago,"  he  declared  jn  his  peroration, 
"  they  had  voted  the  Republican  ticket.  They  had 
been  promised  higher  wages  by  a  high  protection, 
and  they  were  given  higher  fences  instead,  protected 
by  barbed  wire.  Loopholes  for  the  cannon  mouths 
were  protecting  capital  to  resist  the  just  demands  of 
honest  labor. 

"  For  whom  should  they  vote  now  ?  "  he  was  about 
to  conclude,  but  his  conclusion  was  drowned  by  the 
clamor,  the  shouts,  the  cries  of  the  aroused  audience. 
His  last  sentence  was  unnecessary,  their  demeanor 
proved  it  superfluous.  Blair's  reference  to  "  high 
fences  "  and  "  loopholes  "  won  the  minute.  When  the 
confusing  din  died  away,  there  was  loud  and  pro 
longed  applause. 

Blair  settled  back  in  his  chair,  little  moved  or  grati 
fied,  not  even  concerned  by  the  enthusiasm.  He  was 
sure  in  advance  of  the  pulse  of  his  audience,  he  was 
busy  now  in  forecasting  the  temper  of  the  nation.  He 
was  not  to  be  disappointed  there,  either.  Even  now 
his  speech  was  crossing  the  country  on  hot  wires. 
Countless  newspapers  would  publish  it  on  the  mor 
row.  The  day  thereafter  ringing  and  flamboyant  edi 
torials  would  denounce  or  support  it,  according  as 
they  were  Republican  or  Democratic,  free  trade  or 
protective.  And  before  five  days  were  over,  the 
shrewd  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party  nailed  down 
the  strongest  plank  in  their  platform,  characterizing 
the  Republican  tariff  as  a  fraudulent  failure  and 
pointing  to  the  reduced  wages  of  the  steel-and-iron 
workers  as  a  proof  of  the  assertion. 

The  Republican  leaders  in  their  convention  were 
awakened  to  the  stern  necessity  of  meeting  the  charge. 
The  economical  situation,  the  probability  of  innumer- 


THE  MAN  OF  THE  HOUR    227 

able  strikes  throughout  the  country,  threatened  to  start 
a  landslide  in  the  wrong  direction.  They  took 
mighty  measures  to  turn  it  whither  they  wished  it  to 

go- 
Merrily  the  war  in  the  newspapers  went  on.     The 

one  side  denounced  "  iron  and  pampered  barons ;  the 
shamefaced  robbers  of  honest  labor;  the  cankers  that 
were  insidiously  gnawing  into  the  marrow  of  the 
bone  of  the  commonwealth,"  and  the  like;  while  the 
other  side  strenuously  maintained  that  the  tariff  was 
inconsequent  in  the  discussion  of  the  steel-and-iron 
wage  scale  and  that  the  depression  in  wages  was  due 
to  causes  other  than  the  tariff. 

Great  political  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on 
Marvin  either  to  leave  wages  where  they  were  or  else 
to  hold  the  entire  question  in  abeyance  until  the  election 
was  settled  in  November.  But  Marvin  remained  firm ; 
he  would  not  budge  one  inch ;  to  use  his  own  expres 
sion,  "  I  will  not  recede  from  my  position,  till  the  lake 
freezes  over  in  July." 

Politicians  with  business  as  an  avocation  and  busi 
ness  men  with  political  aspirations, — every  imaginable 
influence  was  set  in  motion  to  move  the  rolling-mill 
employers  throughout  the  Union  to  come  to  the  as 
sistance  of  the  Republican  party  at  this  critical  junc 
ture.  Gradually  they  came ;  one  by  one  they  ceded  to 
the  terms  of  the  Amalgamated  Association  (still  in 
session  in  Chicago),  and  they  sent  in  scales  that  met 
the  demands  of  the  labor  convention. 

Thus  Marvin  stood  alone.  Blair  had  proved  the 
superior  general;  he  had  the  unbroken  forces  of  the 
Association  for  an  ally,  Marvin  was  left  to  fight  the 
battle  single-handed. 

On  the  eve  of  its  delivery,  the  brightest  of  Blair's 


228  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

auditors  understood  that  his  speech  was  meant  to 
carry  beyond  the  walls  of  the  building  in  which  it  was 
delivered;  the  stupid,  who  were  in  the  majority,  dis 
covered  it  on  the  morrow.  All  knew  now.  To  the 
foreigners,  who  had  the  thing  interpreted  to  them  and 
exaggerated  in  the  interpretation,  ?>lair  became  a 
worker  of  miracles — a  common  laborer  who  was  able 
by  his  word  to  influence  the  most  potent  in  the  land ; 
a  mysterious  but  good  agent  acting  in  a  mysterious 
but  good  manner  in  their  behalf. 

They  were  ready,  one  and  all,  to  follow  Blair  into 
the  jaws  of  the  cannon's  mouth. 


XXI 

PENTON'S  AMUSEMENT 

IN     one   of    these    fateful    June   evenings     Penton 
Marvin,    dressed    in    his    usual    flaunting    array 
of  colors,   drove  a  light  buggy  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  Judson  house  and  waited  there.     As  the 
minutes  dragged  on  and  nine  o'clock  drew  excitingly 
near,    Penton    ceased    his    discordant    whistling    and 
snapped  his  whip  impatiently  over  the  horse,  pulling 
the  poor  beast  back  with   an  ugly  tug  whenever  it 
obeyed  his  behest  and  started  forward. 

Mabel  Judson  came  down  the  street  and  made 
straight  for  the  buggy,  evidently  expecting  to  find  the 
vehicle  just  where  it  stood.  She  saw  Penton's  smug 
face;  her  broad  smile  vanished  and  she  looked  puz 
zled. 

Penton  lifted  his  hat  with  a  grin.  "  Sorry,  Miss 
Judson,  but  Ham  couldn't  come  and  he  asked  me  to 
take  his  place.  Didn't  want  to  disappoint  you,  you 
know." 

Mabel  jumped  in  the  buggy  jauntily.  The  drive 
was  the  main  consideration ;  she  cared  not  particularly 
whether  it  was  Penton  or  Hamilton;  both  were 
equally  dull. 

"  I  can't  tell  you  from  your  brother  half  the  time 
at  the  first  glance,  only  your  eyes  are  a  trifle  larger 
and  your  nose  just  the  least  bit  smaller." 

229 


230  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Penton  laughed.  '  That's  a  good  one  on  Ham.  I 
am  better  looking  now,  ain't  I  ?  " 

"  Oh,   considerable." 

"  Thanks.     You're  all  right." 

Mabel  giggled.  She  thought  Penton  a  perfect  fool, 
and  she  gulled  him  to  the  top  of  his  bent.  They  drove 
off  towards  the  lake  shore. 

'*  You  know,"  remarked  Mabel,  seizing  upon  the 
nearest  thing  at  hand  for  a  topic  of  conversa 
tion,  "  that's  a  very  pretty  shirt  you  have  on."  It 
was  a  brilliant  red  with  black  fleur-de-lis  orna 
ments. 

"  I  flatter  myself  it  is.  I've  got  eighteen  shirts. 
But  I  like  this  one  best." 

"  How  interesting!"  she  ejaculated.  "You  ought 
to  buy  three  more  and  make  it  twenty-one  and  then 
you  would  have  three  for  each  day." 

"  That's  a  fact.     I  didn't  think  of  that." 

"  Or,  if  you  don't  want  to  do  that,  you  could  give 
four  away  and  then  you  would  have  just  two  for  each 
day." 

"  No,  I  don't  like  that  idea  so  much  as  the  other ; 
I'd  rather  buy  three  more.  Only  how's  a  fellow  going 
to  get  home  and  change  'em  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that's  true.  I  didn't  think  of  it ;  but  that's 
an  argument  in  favor  of  the  other  idea ;  if  you  can't 
use  what  you  have,  you  had  better  give  four  away, 
instead  of  buying  three  more." 

Penton  reflected  a  second.  "How's  that?  I'm  a 
little  bit  mixed." 

Struggling  to  repress  her  laughter,  Mabel  repeated 
her  last  remark. 

"  I  see.  Very  clever."  He  was  silent  a  second. 
"  Ham's  only  got  sixteen." 


PENTON'S  AMUSEMENT      231 

"  Well,  give  him  one  of  yours  and  then  you'll  both 
have  seventeen." 

"  Not  much,  1  don't.     He  wouldn't  give  me  one." 

"  You  mustn't  be  selfish." 

"  Come  now,  don't  preach.  I  get  enough  of  that  at 
home.  My  sister  Van  never  lets  up ;  she  ought  to 
be  a  minister's  wife.  That  girl  drives  me  out  of  the 
house." 

"  I  saw  her  at  the  office  once  or  twice,  and  I  think 
she  must  be  nice.  She's  very  pretty,"  said  Mabel, 
glad  that  a  turn  in  the  talk  rescued  her  from  an  out 
burst  of  laughter. 

"  Pretty !  "  guffawed  Penton,  "  do  you  call  her 
pretty  with  that  sorrel  mattress  she  carries  around? 
I  think  you're  twice  as  good  looking." 

"  But,"  grinned  Mabel,  "  you  just  said  that  she 
isn't  pretty  at  all." 

"  Come  now,"  pleaded  Penton,  drawing  closer, 
"  don't  mix  a  fellow  up." 

"  Please,  you're  pushing  me  off  the  seat.  I'm  quite 
uncomfortable." 

"  Pardon,"  grunted  he,  moving  back  unwillingly. 
"  Can't  make  much  headway  with  her,"  he  growled  to 
himself,  "  she's  too  damn  particular.  I  wish  I'd  let 
Ham  have  her  after  all.  He's  always  bragging  what 
he  can  do." 

Mabel  sat  quiet,  leaning  back  luxuriously,  happy  to 
be  relieved  of  the  strain  of  entertaining  such  an  ab 
surdly  stupid  companion,  glad  to  enjoy  the  pleasant 
road  and  the  quick  trot  of  the  horse,  without  inter 
ruption. 

Nothing  was  perfect  in  this  world,  mused  Mabel : 
if  one  had  a  really  clever  young  man,  one  was  obliged 
to  walk.  Clever  young  men  had  the  decided  objec- 


232  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

tion  of  being  poor,  and  Mabel  nourished  no  senti 
mental  ideas  about  poverty.  She  could  see  no  ro 
mance  in  pounding  the  keys  of  a  typewriter  eight 
weary  hours  a  day,  at  an  almost  nominal  wage  per 
week. 

She  was  not  fated  to  enjoy  her  reverie  overly  long. 
Penton  was  under  the  impression  that  if  he  didn't 
talk  and  continue  talking  Mabel  might  consider  him 
dull. 

"  I  say,"  he  broke  in,  "  it  must  be  hard  work  type 
writing  all  day.  It  must  be  terrible  to  spell  so  many 
words  correctly." 

"  Not  a  bit  harder  than  it  would  be  to  spell  them  in 
correctly." 

"  You  don't  say !  I  should  think  it  would  be."  He 
considered  her  very  difficult,  wondering  why  she  did 
not  prove  susceptible  to  his  subtle  flattery.  Surely 
he  had  tried  hard  enough.  Silence  again ;  the  lulling 
sound  of  multitudinous  crickets  chirping  in  the  fields. 
Mabel  returned  to  her  reverie. 

Penton  cudgeled  his  \veak  brains  sorely ;  five  min 
utes  had  passed  without  a  word ;  his  reputation  for 
intelligence  was  in  danger.  He  fished  desperately, 
and  finally,  as  luck  would  have  it,  he  pulled  up  the 
phrase  he  had  heard  La  Vette  use  at  the  cotillon. 

"  You  know,"  he  said,  "  I've  often  thought  that 
what  is  worst  in  a  bad  woman  often  appeals  to-  the 
best  man,  and  what  is  best  in  a  good  man  often  ap 
peals  to  the  worst  woman." 

Mabel,  starting,  questioned  the  veracity  of  her  hear 
ing.  "  Where  in  the  wide  world,"  ejaculated  she, 
"did  you  read  that?" 

"  Didn't  read  it,"  he  blustered.  "  A  fellow  never 
gets  any  credit  for  being  original  in  this  world."  He 


PENTON'S  AMUSEMENT     233 

assumed  a  righteousness-outraged  air  and  forced  his 
stolid,  stupid  countenance  to  look  more  stolid  and 
stupid  still. 

"  You  mustn't  take  me  so  seriously,"  soothed 
Mabel.  "  I  didn't  mean  anything." 

It  was  the  first  word  that  approached  anything  like 
sympathy,  and  Penton,  resolving  to  take  advantage  of 
the  moment,  nerved  himself  for  it,  and  slid  his  arm 
around  the  girl's  buxom  waist. 

She  pulled  it  away  in  a  jiffy.  "  You  must  not  do 
that;  I  cannot  allow  that,"  she  said  firmly. 

Penton  sulked;  the  rest  of  the  drive  was  ruined  for 
him.  The  whole  world  somehow  conspired  to  de 
ceive  him ;  his  just  dues  were  always  withheld  and 
given  to  others  less  worthy. 

Only  a  few  minutes  after  Mabel  and  Penton's  de 
parture,  Hamilton  drove  up  to  the  trysting-place  in 
his  buggy.  He  whistled  and  waited,  eying  his  watch 
whilst  his  horse  cooled  its  heels.  He  grew  anxious  as 
the  minutes  sped  and  Mabel  put  in  no  appearance.  He 
fell  to  cursing  angrily,  venting  his  spleen  equally  on 
himself  and  Mabel  and  the  horse.  Finally  the  light 
dawned  within  him. 

"  I  was  an  ass  to  have  told  Penton  anything  about 
it.  That  fellow  can't  stay  straight.  He's  been  up  to 
some  of  his  underhanded  tricks  I'll  bet." 

He  drove  the  buggy  back  to  the  livery  stable,  af 
fecting  nonchalance  at  the  grins  of  the  hostlers,  who 
were  aware  of  the  reason  for  his  swift  return. 


XXII 
THE  RING 

WHEN  Mabel  went  out  for  her  drive  with  Pen- 
ton  Marvin,  she  had  stolen  out  of  the  parlor 
in  which  Blair  and  the  family  were  sitting  in 
comfortable  converse.     The  girl  had  acquired  a  pretty 
trick  of  evading  notice  and  slipping  away ;  and,  as  she 
usually  returned  at  a  seasonable  hour  and  evidently 
none  the  worse  for  an  innocent  escapade,   little  was 
said. 

Judson  was  in  his  corner  reading,  for  possibly  the 
thousandth  time,  a  life  and  the  speeches  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  not  disturbed  in  the  least  by  the  pranks  of 
the  children ;  the  little  girls,  tired  out,  lay  nestled  in 
their  mother's  lap,  fast  asleep.  Ben  Judson  and 
Blair  were  arguing.  Martha  sat  in  quiet,  her  chin 
bent  low,  her  strong  white  hands  folded  in  her  lap. 

"  Why  don't  you  put  that  old  book  away,  pa  Jud 
son,"  scolded  the  mother.  "  We  never  can  get  a  word 
out  of  you  when  you  have  that  in  your  hand.  I've 
a  mind  to  burn  the  old  thing." 

Judson,  glancing  up,  removed  his  clerical  glasses 
and  rubbed  the  halfmoons  with  his  handkerchief. 

"  Well,"  he  soliloquized,  turning  towards  Blair,  "  I 
love  every  word  that  man  Abraham  Lincoln  ever  said. 
He  had  such  a  heap  of  common  sense.  I  often  wish 
he'd  come  back  here  for  a  week  or  two,  just  to  tell 
us  what  he  thought  of  the  way  things  are  running 
now." 

234 


THE  RING  235 

The  old  inventor  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  filled 
his  pipe  from  the  rubber  pouch — a  signal  that  he  was 
ready  to  give  what  he  was  so  fond  of  terming  "  his 
opinion  about  things."  Blair  had  heard  him  say  a 
score  of  times,  "  I'm  willing  to  give  my  opinion  on 
anything;  I  may  be  wrong  nine  times  out  of  ten,  but 
the  satisfaction  of  the  tenth  time  makes  up  for  the 
other  nine.  Besides,  the  other  nine  show  me  that  one 
of  the  privileges  of  the  American  citizen  is  still  left." 

"  Yes,"  mused  Blair  absently,  thinking  of  his  ar 
gument  with  Ben  rather  than  Judson's  assertion, 
"  Lincoln  was  a  rare  man ;  I  doubt  if  this  world  will 
ever  see  his  like  again." 

"  It  isn't  probable,"  expiated  Judson,  puffing  at  his 
pipe;  "his  like  only  comes  once  in  history,  just  to 
prove  what  the  Lord  can  make  out  of  a  man  when 
His  mind  is  set  on  it.'' 

"  Pa  Judson !  "  exclaimed  his  wife,  admonishingly. 
She  was  an  exceedingly  religious  woman,  and  what 
she  considered  her  husband's  sacrilege  tormented  her. 

"  The  trouble  is,"  Judson  went  on,  unmindful  of  his 
wife's  correction  (he  never  heeded  her  on  that  score), 
"  that  every  father  thinks  his  boy  is  going  to  turn  out 
an  Abraham  Lincoln  or  a  blamed  fool.  Now  I  don't 
think  because  I  started  Ben  here  to  splitting  rails  for 
kindling  that  he's  going  to  end  up  in  the  White 
House." 

No  one  seemed  willing  to  dispute  his  reflection ; 
even  Ben  smiled  good-naturedly ;  and,  rather  disap 
pointed  that  he  had  not  been  gainsaid,  Judson  re 
placed  his  glasses  and  went  on  reading.  He  loved 
an  argument;  he  liked  a  dinner,  as  Martha  phrased 
it,  grammatically  and  truthfully. 

The  clock  droned  away  in  the  dining-room,  mark- 


236  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ing  the  uneventful  flight  of  placid  minutes.  Judson 
was  intent  on  his  reading.  Ben  and  Blair  resumed 
their  conversation.  Martha  glanced  at  Blair  now  and 
then  as  if  she  had  something  to  say  for  his  ear  alone 
and  as  if  she  would  wait  until  all  other  ears  were  out 
of  hearing.  Martha  generally  wore  the  air  of  one 
biding  one's  time,  calm,  statue-like. 

Mrs.  Judson  left  the  room  with  the  children.  She 
schemed  to  leave  Martha  and  Blair  alone,  angry  at 
her  husband  and  Ben  for  not  taking  the  hint.  She 
hoped  Martha  would  fancy  Blair ;  but  she  was  obliged 
to  nourish  that  hope  in  secret ;  for  her  husband  merely 
shrugged  his  shoulders  when  the  question  of  Mar 
tha's  matrimony  arose ;  and  that  young  lady  had  a 
fashion  of  retorting  with  a  cutting  tongue  when  her 
mother  broached  her  favorite  topic  of  a  good  catch. 

Winslow  called,  dropping  in  like  one  of  the  family. 
Martha  greeted  him  indifFerently,  without  the  faint 
est  smile  of  welcome.  The  newcomer  sat  beside  her, 
and  Blair  watched  the  couple  narrowly.  Martha  re 
mained  quiet,  apparently  neither  bored  nor  inter 
ested  in  what  the  doughty  Englishman  was  uttering 
so  warmly,  as  if  her  chief  concern  lay  far  beyond  the 
subject  of  his  words. 

Blair's  heart  ached  sympathetically  as  he  saw  the 
crestfallen  expression  on  his  old  friend's  honest  face. 
Had  his  appearance  in  the  house  lessened  Winslow's 
chances  with  the  woman  to  whom  he  was  so  seriously 
and  passionately  attached?  For  Winslow's  sake 
should  he  have  quit  the  Judsons  long  ago?  Had  he 
consciously  and  purposely  done  aught  to  win  Mar 
tha's  affection?  Had  vanity  prompted  him  to  steal 
what  Winslow  justly  claimed?  Blair's  fascination  for 
Martha  had  undergone  a  singular  and  swift  transfer- 


THE  RING  237 

mation  since  his  last  meeting  with  Evangeline,  while 
Blair,  on  the  other  hand,  grew  more  and  more  en 
deared  to  Martha  as  his  affections  for  her  waned  and 
shriveled.  Martha's  cold  nature  was  a  singular  con 
tradiction  in  itself ;  it  thawed  from  indifference  and 
froze  from  warmth.  Depressed,  sadly  contrite,  with 
an  accusing  conscience,  Blair  studied  Martha's  im 
mobile  countenance. 

Winslow  twiddled  his  Masonic  watch-charm  nerv 
ously,  his  face  evincing  his  poignant  emotions,  ill- 
disguised,  and  suddenly  as  if  ashamed  that  the  others 
were  witnessing  his  confusion  and  as  if  wishing  to 
divert  their  attention,  and  his  own  as  well,  he  spoke 
up  suddenly: 

"  Well,  Carrhart,  to-morrow  is  the  day  we  beard 
the  lion  in  his  den." 

Blair  nodded. 

"  That's  so,"  said  Judson,  with  a  start,  as  if  his 
slumbering  memory  had  been  jarred,  "  to-morrow  is 
the  eighteenth — the  last  day  you  fellows  have  to  ac 
cept  the  Company's  terms,  eh?  Well,  I  suppose  you 
have  primed  yourselves  to  meet  Henry  Marvin  in  the 
morning." 

"  Just  so,"  said  Ben,  pounding  his  left  palm  with 
his  clenched  right  fist. 

Judson  smiled.  "  That's  the  way  it  is  with  Ben ; 
mention  Marvin's  name  and  off  he  goes  at  a  tangent." 

"  I  can  tell  you  right  here,"  put  in  Winslow,  "  we're 
not  going  to  accept  the  Company's  terms ;  if  Marvin 
doesn't  act  within  reason  there's  going  to  be  some  fun 
to-morrow." 

Ben  Judson  frowned  and  muttered ;  his  narrow 
forehead  seemed  to  creep  under  his  low-running  black 
hair. 


238 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


Judson  shook  his  head  disapprovingly.  "  It  was  a 
mistake  to  have  put  Ben  on  your  committee,  he's  too 
hot-headed;  he'll  want  to  jump  at  Marvin's  throat  as 
soon  as  you  get  in  the  room." 

"  That's  what  I'd  like  to  do,  the  old—  -"  thundered 
Ben. 

"  I  know,"  went  on  the  father,  "  but  you're  begin 
ning  at  the  wrong  end,  you  ought  to  do  everything  in 
your  power  to  avoid  a  rupture,  not  to  bring  one 
about." 

"  Carrhart,  here,  is  the  spokesman  of  the  commit 
tee,"  remarked  Winslow,  as  if  that  fact  were  a  suffi 
cient  guarantee  that  all  objectionable  features  would  be 
eliminated. 

"  Well,  boys,"  cautioned  Judson,  "  go  slow  what 
ever  you  do ;  give  in  all  you  can,  and  take  all  you  can 
stand." 

"  We've  been  doing  that  long  enough,"  interrupted 
Ben ;  "  it's  about  time  the  other  end  was  doing  their 
share  of  that  business." 

Disregarding  Ben's  interjection,  Judson  contin 
ued:  "I  wish  I  could  make  you  chaps  realize  what 
I've  been  through  in  the  line  of  strikes,  and  maybe 
you'd  run  away  from  them  as  quick  as  you'd  drop  the 
red-hot  end  of  a  poker." 

"  I  know,"  nodded  Winslow ;  "  I've  been  through 
one  right  here  in  Marvin." 

"  But  that  was  a  game  of  croquet  beside  what  this 
one  is  going  to  be,"  warned  Judson.  "  Old  Marvin  has 
made  up  his  mind,  firm  as  a  rock,  and  you  fellows  are 
stubborn  as  mules,  and  if  a  fight  starts  it  will  last  un 
til  one  side  gets  licked  or  the  other  gets  starved,  and 
I  know  which  it  will  be.  Go  slow,  boys,  for  God's 
sake,  go  slow.  I've  caught  a  stray  word  here  and 


THE  RING  239 

there,  and  if  a  strike  comes  it  will  be  one  of  the  worst 
calamities  that  has  ever  visited  this  country.  You 
may  think  the  old  man  is  exaggerating,  but  I'm  afraid 
you'll  find  out  too  late  that  he's  right." 

"  It  can't  be  any  worse  than  it  is  now,  no  matter 
what  comes,"  growled  Ben. 

"Yes  it  can,  sonny;  don't  fool  yourself  there;  it 
can  be  a  heap  worse  and  you  can  take  my  word  for  it 
that  it  will  be.  You  fellows  will  fight  like  Turks  and 
starve  like  dogs  for  six  months  and  then  go  back  to 
work  at  the  Company's  own  terms ;  that's  just  how 
the  thing  will  end.  I've  lived  through  strikes  enough 
to  speak  from  experience." 

"  It  can't  be  any  worse,"  repeated  Ben.  "  They've 
ground  half  of  us  down  to  the  bone,  and  they're 
starving  the  other  half  now." 

"  Well,  I've  had  my  say,"  smiled  Judson,  "  and  I 
can't  do  any  more.  Disregard  the  advice  of  old  age 
and  suffer  the  repentance  of  youth." 

Blair,  who  had  maintained  a  strict  silence,  suddenly 
broke  in :  "  Look  here,  Mr.  Judson,  you're  taking 
hold  of  this  question  at  the  wrong  end.  We  are  going 
to  do  all  in  our  power  to  avoid  a  strike,  and  you'll 
bear  me  out  when  I  say  that  we  have  been  doing  just 
that  right  along.  If  a  strike  does  result  it  will  be  be 
cause  we  couldn't  avoid  it,  not  because  we  wished  it. 
A  strike  is  not  our  aim  and  end ;  it's  only  the  means  to 
our  end." 

"  An  end  you'll  never  reach,"  posited  Judson. 

Heedless  of  the  interruption,  Blair  went  on,  plead 
ing  passionately,  his  voice  swelling  as  he  presented  the 
men's  side  of  the  issue,  as  if  Judson  were  a  listening 
world.  "  I  hate  strikes  as  well  as  you  do,"  he  ended, 
with  a  glow  of  eloquence.  "  I  quite  agree  with  you 


240  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

that  strikes  are  hell,  a  relic  of  barbarism,  of  man's 
hatred  against  his  fellow.  I  look  forward  to  a  no 
distant  day  when  strikes  will  be  an  impossibility. 
When  the  Cooperative  Commonwealth  becomes  a 
present  form  of  government,  strikes  will  become  past 
history.  In  every  state  there  will  be  an  obligatory 
board  of  arbitration,  and  over  all  the  state  boards 
there  will  be  the  National  Department  of  Labor, 
standing  in  relation  to  the  state  boards  as  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  to  the  judiciary  of  the  land." 

Blair  could  never  hear  his  favorite  theme  without 
plunging  into  it,  and  almost  before  he  was  aware  of 
it  himself,  he  had  begun  to  outline  the  Cooperative 
Commonwealth.  He  arose  from  his  chair  and  strode 
up  and  down  the  small  parlor,  swinging  his  long  arms 
from  side  to  side  as  if  he  were  sowing  the  intellectual 
seeds  of  his  system,  taking  them  from  a  deep  bag  of 
thoughts.  His  eyes  glowed  and  his  clear  voice 
throbbed  with  fine  feeling. 

Blair  stemmed  Judson's  incipient  objections  with 
an  impatient  shake  of  his  massive  head,  foresee 
ing  and  forefending  his  contradictory  arguments, 
while  Judson  puffed  at  his  pipe  in  complacent  skep 
ticism,  astonished  at  the  man's  earnestness.  Ben  and 
Winslow  listened  entranced.  Martha  sat  in  quiet, 
her  hands  folded  in  her  lap,  her  chin  bent  low,  follow 
ing  Blair's  every  word,  although  to  judge  from  her  in 
different  appearance,  Blair's  theme  had  no  interest  for 
her.  She  loved  Blair  best  thus,  when  he  was  aroused 
and  impassioned,  when  the  lion  in  the  man  awoke,  and 
he  stood  in  bold  ouline  against  the  world,  all  other 
men  dwindling  away  to  mere  pigmies  beside  him. 
Pity,  she  thought,  that  the  best  of  his  remarkable  en 
dowments  were  devoted  to  a  cause  in  which  she 


THE  RING  241 

had  neither  sympathy  nor  interest.  Mrs.  Judson  came 
into  the  room ;  Blair  was  not  aware  of  her  entrance. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  world  for  him  then  but  him 
self  and  his  mission. 

"  All  that  sounds  very  well,  young  man,"  Judson 
hastened  to  say,  unable  to  contain  himself  any  longer, 
when  Blair  had  done  and  resumed  his  seat ;  "  but  I'm 
of  the  strong  opinion  that  it  will  never  work  out." 

"  I've  just  explained  that  it  must  work  out.  Have 
I  been  talking  for  nothing  ?  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  unkind ;  but  most  talking  of  that 
kind  does  go  for  nothing.  I've  been  working  in  these 
mills,  one  place  and  another,  for  the  last  twenty  years, 
and  I  tell  you  from  my  own  observation  that  jealousy 
speaks  in  these  mills  twice  to  love's  once.  Half  of 
the  mill  drinks  beer  and  thinks  beer;  they  don't  want 
to  be  raised,  and  if  you  raise  them  against  their  will 
they'll  fall  back  again." 

"  Stupidity,  ignorance,  to  admit  what  you  say  for 
the  sake  of  argument,  may  be  the  cause  of  their  leth 
argy  ;  we  will  change  their  thought  by  changing  their 
environment  and  their  opportunities." 

"  Well,  I  can't  have  any  sympathy  for  oxen." 

"  I  can !  " 

"  You're  only  wasting  your  sympathies,  young  man. 
Socialism  is  like  the  measles  anyway,  all  of  us  get  the 
disease  once.  No,  Carrhart,  as  a  man  grows  older  he 
is  more  inclined  to  let  the  world  take  care  of  itself, 
while  he  busies  himself  in  taking  care  of  his  family." 

"  Which  may  be  the  reason  why  the  world  has  run 
wrong  so  long." 

"  Yes,  and  when  all  men  are  honest  we  won't  have 
any  thieves,  and  about  that  time  don't  look  for  the 
moorir— there  won't  be  any.  Marthy,  here,  can  tell 
ttf 


242  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

you  about  Wheeler  next  door  who  was  always  prating 
about  how  he  loved  his  neighbor  better  than  himself. 
I  never  wondered  at  it  much  either,  for  he  was  ever 
lastingly  sending  one  of  his  children  over  to  borrow 
an  egg  or  two,  a  cup  of  flour  or  what  not.  It  got  to  be 
a  nuisance  rfter  a  while  and  I  told  him  one  day  I'd 
like  to  see  both  his  love  and  his  borrowing  de 
crease." 

Judson  paused  to  smile  as  the  others  laughed,  and 
then  he  went  on  :  "  Your  theorizing  is  all  very  fine, 
young  man,  about  sharing  equally  and  living  for  each 
other  instead  of  for  ourselves ;  but  whenever  you  get 
two  full-blooded  horses  together,  you're  going  to  have 
a  race.  I  wouldn't  give  a  pinch  of  snuff  for  a  mare 
that  would  stop  to  graze  until  a  wind-broken,  spavined 
horse  could  catch  up  with  her.  It  may  be  charity, 
but  it's  seriously  against  horse-flesh." 

"  Your  point  of  view  is  wrong,"  retorted  Blair, 
"  and  your  analogy  is  false.  We  don't  ask  the  swift 
to  halt ;  but  we  do  ask  the  strong  to  lead  the  weak ; 
those  who  have  eyes  to  guide  the  blind." 

"  That  reminds  me,"  smiled  Judson,  happy,  in  his 
element,  "  of  a  half-crazy,  wandering  French  artist 
I  knew  when  I  was  a  boy.  He  painted  the  picture  of 
a  farmer's  wife  and  the  likeness  didn't  please  her  hus 
band. 

"  '  It's  a  mighty  fine  picture,  Mr.  Frenchy,'  said  he 
'  but  it  don't  look  any  more  like  my  wife  than  it  does 
.like  me.' 

"  '  Well,'  said  Frenchy,  '  you  can  easily  see,  being 
a  smart  farmer,  that  it  don't  take  much  of  an  artist 
to  paint  a  face  just  as  it  is,  without  touching  it  up  with 
imagination.  Eesides,  you've  got  a  bargain.  I  ain't 
charging  any  more  for  painting  your  wife  as  she  ought 


THE  RING  243 

to  be  than  if  I  painted  her  as  she  is,  and  I  usually  get 
more.' 

"  '  Wall/  said  the  farmer,  scratching  his  head,  '  may 
be  you're  right.  I'll  keep  the  picture.  Maybe  Mary 
Ann  will  grow  up  to  it.' 

"  A  day  or  two  after  that  Mr.  Farmer  chases 
through  the  country  to  find  Mr.  Frenchy  and  he  found 
him.  '  See  here,  Mr.  Frenchy/  he  said,  '  I  want  you  to 
come  back  and  paint  my  wife  just  as  she  is;  I'm  tired 
of  having  her  moping  around  that  picture  all  day  and 
doing  no  work.  She  does  nothing  else  but  tell  me  I'm 
the  only  fool  that  can't  see  her  beauty/ 

"  '  Well/  says  Frenchy,  '  it  ain't  a  bad  idea  to  have 
the  two  pictures,  one  will  keep  her  good-natured,  the 
other  will  keep  her  modest/ 

" '  But  they  won't  go  together/  says  the  farmer. 

"  '  Yes,  they  will/  says  Frenchy,  '  if  you  hang  'em 
right.  Put  one  in  your  parlor  and  the  other  up-stairs 
in  the  bedroom.' 

"  '  Which  goes  in  the  parlor  ?  '  asks  the  farmer. 

" '  You  and  your  wife  can  settle  that/  answers 
Frenchy. 

"  '  We  never  can !  '  says  the  farmer. 

" '  Well  then/  answers  Frenchy,  '  keep  changin' 
'em/  ' 

Judson  paused  a  minute  to  enjoy  his  anecdote  to 
the  full.  "  Now  that's  the  way  it  is  with  socialism  and 
facts,  it  strikes  me.  You  can  easily  see  where  the 
points  fit." 

Blair  laughed  at  Judson's  pleasantry,  then  he  grew 
grave  again,  seriously  thoughtful,  preparing  to  show 
the  fallacies  in  Judson's  comparisons,  when  Winslow 
arose  to  leave,  and  Martha's  cold  good-night,  and  the 
grieved  expression  on  Winslow's  face  sent  his  thoughts 


244  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

whirling  down  a  different  track.  There  was  a  short 
discussion  on  the  method  of  procedure  to  be  observed 
on  the  morrow  in  Marvin's  office  and  then  Winslow 
took  his  departure;  and  not  ten  minutes  thereafter 
Mabel  returned. 

Judson  frowned,  his  abstract  look  vanished ;  his 
thought  centered  in  his  eyes.  "  You're  very  late, 
Mabel,"  he  complained,  "  where  have  you  been?" 

"  Out  driving,"  she  answered,  equivocally. 

"With  who?"  he  asked,  ungrammatically  but 
severely. 

She  tried  to  evade  the  question ;  he  pinned  her  to  it. 

"  With  Penton  Marvin,"  she  flushed.  She  was  an 
honest  girl,  preferring  an  excoriation  to  an  escape 
from  punishment  by  falsehood. 

"  I  don't  like  that  kind  of  company  and  I've  told 
you  so  before.  You  disobeyed  me."  Blair  could 
scarcely  believe  it  was  Judson's  voice,  so  harsh  and 
rough  had  it  become.  The  whole  expression  of  his 
mellow,  kindly  countenance  changed.  He  laid  his 
pipe  on  the  table. 

Mabel's  lips  quivered.  "  I  ought  to  be  old  enough 
to  judge  what's  proper." 

Blair  arose  to  quit  the  room ;  he  had  no  desire  to 
creep  into  this  family  jar. 

"  Stay  just  where  you  are,  Carrhart ;  if  Mabel's  so 
sure  that  she's  done  right,  she  needn't  be  ashamed  to 
have  you  hear  what  she's  done,"  Judson  commanded 
rather  than  requested.  Blair  thought  Judson's  charac 
ter  lacked  firmness ;  he  changed  his  mind  then  and 
there. 

Mrs.  Judson  came  to  her  daughter's  aid.  "  You 
never  will  give  your  daughter  a  chance  to  get  married. 
Every  time  she  goes  out  with  a  young  man  above  her 


THE  RING  245 

station,  you  object.  I  can't  see  why  my  daughter 
isn't  good  enough  to  go  with  any  young  man;  Henry 
Marvin's  son  or  anybody  else's." 

"  She's  too  good,"  retorted  Judson  sharply.  "  Those 
are  bad  waters  to  fish  in  for  a  matrimonial  catch.  They 
are  the  kind  of  fish  that  swallow  the  bait  and  leave  the 
hook  untouched." 

"  Come  here,  Mabel,"  he  commanded  in  somewhat 
softer  tones.  The  girl  advanced,  all  a  tremble.  She 
respected  her  father  and  she  loved  him,  even  better 
than  her  mother,  although  undoubtedly  she  was  her 
favorite  child. 

She  wound  her  arm  around  her  father's  neck  and 
kissed  his  bald  head  before  he  had  the  chance  to  speak 
another  disapproving  word.  It  was  an  easy  disarma 
ment,  a  crafty,  albeit  loving,  appeal  for  truce,  without 
the  displaying  of  a  white  flag  for  surrender. 

"  I'm  sorry  that  I  spoke  the  way  I  did,"  she  said ; 
"  you  know  that  I  didn't  mean  anything.  I  suppose  I 
oughtn't  to  go  out  with  the  Marvin  boys.  But  then 
they're  such  dolts  and  I  can  handle  them  so  easily. 
They're  both  too  stupid  to  be  dangerous.  Besides," 
she  blushed,  "  they  give  themselves  so  much  credit  for 
being  shrewd  that  it's  a  treat  to  fool  them  when  they 
think  they're  fooling  me." 

"  You  ought  to  be  far  above  that,  Mabel,"  inter 
posed  Martha  in  her  quiet  way,  not  looking  up. 

"  Oh,  Martha  is  always  on  the  other  side  when 
Mabel  says  or  does  anything,"  and  the  mother  came 
to  the  younger  daughter's  assistance  again. 

Martha's  broad  nostrils  dilated ;  her  placid  forehead 
wrinkled ;  but  she  said  nothing,  although  Blair  ob 
served  that  the  corner  of  her  mouth  skewered  up  as 
if  a  sharp  retort  were  on  her  tongue's  end. 


246  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Martha  is  right,"  spoke  Judson  firmly,  lowering 
down  on  his  wife  over  the  half  moons  of  his  glasses ; 
"  I  don't  want  Mabel  to  try  her  hand  at  that  kind  of 
business  again." 

"  All  right,"  replied  she,  contritely,  "  I  won't."  She 
hugged  her  father  again,  and  before  he  had  time  to 
launch  out  on  his  intended  lecture  she  interrupted  with 
a  detailed  account  of  the  conversation  with  Penton 
that  made  them  all  laugh,  even  Judson,  Martha  and 
Blair,  despite  themselves ;  and  the  mother  loudest  of 
all,  accepting  the  laughter  as  a  tribute  rendered  to  the 
cleverness  that  was  Mabel's. 

Encouraged  by  the  good  feeling,  and  prompted  by  a 
desire  to  increase  it  as  well  as  to  show  what  her  charms 
might  accomplish  when  she  chose  to  exert  them,  Mabel 
held  up  her  finger  exclaiming,  "  Look  at  the  ring  he 
gave  me.  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  "  It  was  a  mar 
quise  setting  of  turquoise  and  diamonds. 

Judson's  eyes  blazed  angrily  through  his  clerical 
glasses.  "  Take  it  off,"  he  bade  harshly,  "  I  won't 
have  you  wearing  it  another  minute.  I  want  you  to 
give  it  back  in  the  morning."  He  arose  from  his 
chair,  his  colorless  face  turning  blood  red. 

Again  the  mother  started  to  defend  the  daughter; 
but  Judson  frowned,  disapprovingly,  almost  threat 
eningly,  and  she  held  her  peace. 

Mabel  threw  the  ring  on  the  table,  aghast  before  her 
father's  gust  of  rage.  She  had  never  seen  him  thus 
before  in  all  her  life. 

Blair's  chair  was  drawn  close  to  the  table;  the  ring 
all  but  touched  his  hand. 

"  I  don't  mind  not  wearing  the  ring,"  pleaded 
Mabel  humbly,  quite  dispirited,  "  but  I  hate  to  take  it 
back,  it  looks  so  silly." 


THE  RING  247 

"  It's  Van's  ring !  "  exclaimed  Blair,  absently,  trans 
ported  by  the  sight  and  unexpected  reappearance  of 
their  engagement  ring  to  realms  afar.  At  that 
moment  it  seemed  to  Blair  that  he  would  willingly 
have  remained  dumb  the  rest  of  his  life  could  he  have 
recalled  those  words  then;  but  they  had  been  spoken, 
they  were  his  no  longer;  others  owned  them  now  to 
twist  them  as  they  would. 

The  Judsons  looked  at  him  inquiringly,  in  astonish 
ment,  wondering  what  he  meant. 

Confused,  on  the  outermost  verge  of  distraction,  he 
explained  blushingly,  his  cheeks  flushed :  "  Miss  Mar 
vin's,  that  is;  I  recognized  it/' 

He  was  in  the  abyss  deeper  than  ever,  the  first  false 
step  compelled  the  second.  Extrication  questioned 
his  powers.  He  was  the  very  fool,  he  told  himself,  of 
a  tongue  too  quick,  an  excitement  too  unguarded. 

"  And  how  do  you  know  Miss  Marvin  ?  You,  a 
mill  hand,  a  common  laborer,  by  what  right  do  you 
call  her  by  her  Chrisian  name,  shortened  to  a  familiar 
length  ?  "  These  questions  were  written  on  the  coun 
tenances  of  the  whole  family  as  plainly  as  if  their 
tongues  had  voiced  them. 

Something  needs  must  be  said  and  Blair  said  it  with 
a  falling  heart,  feeling  himself  sink  into  the  quag 
mire  deeper  and  deeper.  The  first  step  had  forced  the 
second,  the  second  compelled  the  third.  "  I  can  return 
the  ring  if  you  like — through  friends,  that  is." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Judson  firmly,  "  Mabel  will  do 
that  herself." 

Just  as  Blair  was  on  the  point  of  retiring  for  the 
night,  his  dazed  thought  whirling  under  the  teeth  of 
two  saws — the  one  blade  formed  by  his  own  precipi 
tant  folly;  the  other  by  the  vexatious  puzzle  of  the 


248  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ring's  change  of  ownership  from  Evangeline  to  Pen- 
ton  (had  she  thought  the  ring — their  betrothal  ring, 
his  first  gift — of  so  little  worth  that  it  might  be  dis 
dainfully  tossed  about  and  bandied  by  alien  fingers?), 
just,  be  it  repeated,  as  Blair  was  on  the  point  of  retir 
ing,  a  soft  knock  brought  him  to  the  door. 

Martha  was  standing  in  the  hall,  her  fingers  clasped 
tightly  over  her  thumbs,  her  nostrils  dilating,  her 
shoulders  thrown  back,  her  chin  up.  It  was  apparent, 
from  her  forced  smile,  that  she  was  striving  to  appear 
at  her  ease ;  it  was  equally  apparent  from  her  nervous 
ness  that  she  and  ease  were  miles  apart.  Blair  could 
almost  feel  her  palpitate. 

"  Mr.  Carrhart,"  she  said  stiffly,  "  I  can  get  that 
ring  for  you  if  you  desire  to  return  it  to  Miss  Marvin." 

"  No,  thank  you,"  he  returned,  as  gently  as  he  could, 
"  it  must  be  as  your  father  wishes  about  that.  Mabel 
will  return  it." 

"  Very  well,"  and  turning,  Martha  walked  haughtily 
down  the  hall  into  her  own  room. 

Through  the  weary  watches  of  that  night,  three 
saws  whirled  their  jagged  teeth  through  Blair's  mind 
instead  of  two. 


XXIII 

DRAMATIC   MOMENTS 

AT  half  after  ten  on  the  following  morning  the 
committee  filed  into  Marvin's  office.  Blair  rep 
resented  the  rail-mill,  Winslow  the  blast-fur 
naces  ;  Ben  Judson  had  been  sent  from  the  plate-mill ; 
Michael  Brodski  was  the  spokesman  for  the  unorgan 
ized  common  laborers ;  one  man  from  the  slab-mill  and 
another  from  the  steel-mill  completed  the  eight.  Con 
siderable  discussion  and  Blair's  persuasion  had  con 
fined  the  number  to  this  limit.  It  was  decided  that 
large  numbers  would  prove  too  unwieldy,  that  many 
minds,  with  many  opinions,  would  lead  inevitably  to 
friction,  division,  and  perhaps  disruption. 

In  the  final  draught  of  the  scales  several  minor 
points  had  been  conceded ;  but  the  reduction  in  the 
wages  of  any  class  of  workers  of  over  fifteen  per  cent, 
was  to  be  firmly  withstood.  A  reduction  in  rents  and 
a  fair  adjustment  of  the  question  of  repairs  was  to  be 
demanded.  A  compromise  on  the  minimum  of  billets 
was  agreed  upon,  which  met  the  Company  half  way. 

The  offices,  surrounded  on  the  outside  by  a  grass- 
plot  that  had  to  struggle  for  existence — the  sickly 
green  showed  the  result  of  the  struggle — looked  out 
on  the  car  tracks  and  the  bridge.  A  long  oak  table,  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  mills,  photographs  of  the  ma 
chinery  and  a  map  of  the  works  composed  the  furni- 

249 


250  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ture.  Eight  upholstered  chairs  were  drawn  circlewise 
around  the  table. 

Marvin,  grim,  composed,  drew  himself  up  to  his  full 
height  and  arose  to  greet  the  men.  He  seemed  a 
product  of  his  own  machinery,  a  thing  of  steel  and 
iron. 

"  Be  seated,  gentlemen,"  he  said  politely. 

The  men,  removing  their  slouch-hats,  filled  the 
chairs.  Blair  was  seated  in  the  center,  facing  Marvin, 
whose  place  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  long  oak 
table,  littered  with  papers. 

Marvin's  keen  eyes  rested  on  Blair.  Intuitively  he 
felt  that  this  man  had  been  chosen  for  spokesman. 
Blair's  intellectual  superiority  was  stamped  on  his 
countenance  as  his  physical  superiority  was  stamped 
on  his  body.  Marvin's  intuition  was  correct ;  it  had 
been  agreed  that  if  any  fine  points  arose  in  the  debate 
that  Blair  was  to  be  arbiter. 

"  It's  an  extremely  warm  day,"  remarked  Marvin. 

"  Very,  sir,"  answered  Winslow ;  the  others  nodded. 

'  The  morning  is  short,"  said  Blair,  "  we  have  a 
great  deal  to  attend  to,  we  might  as  well  proceed  with 
our  business." 

Marvin  glanced  up,  with  a  kind  of  inquiring  start ; 
he  had  expected  to  open  the  proceedings  himself  with 
the  full  advantage  of  some  such  remark. 

"  Precisely,"  he  answered  sharply,  not  removing  his 
eyes  from  Blair,  wondering  who  this  man  might  be. 

"  Our  figures  are  ready,"  said  Blair  calmly,  opening 
a  packet  of  papers  and  laying  them  on  the  table. 
Marvin  let  them  lie,  unheeded. 

"  Before  we  touch  the  scales,  gentlemen,"  said  the 
president,  the  V  wrinkling  deep  on  his  forehead,  "  we 
must  settle  this  question  of  time,  once  for  all.  Here- 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS       251 

after  the  Amalgamated  Association  must  give  us  no 
tice  in  June  and  any  dirference  will  be  settled  in  Jan 
uary." 

Marvin  paused ;  it  was  in  the  nature  of  the  man  to 
make  his  demands  autocratically;  he  had  reasons  for 
every  demand,  but  he  preferred  to  keep  them  to  him 
self.  It  should  suffice  the  rest  of  the  world  that  Henry 
Marvin  wished  things  done  as  he  wished  them  done. 

"  And  your  reasons  ?  "   asked   Blair  promptly. 

"  The  reasons  are  that  our  contracts  are  taken  in 
January  and  it  is  impossible  to  figure  unless  we  know 
where  we  stand;  secondly,  as  you  are  aware,  our  dull 
season  comes  in  January;  we  do  our  overhauling  in 
midwinter,  and  then  both  of  us  have  more  time  to 
settle  that  sort  of  thing." 

"  We  have  considered  that,"  put  in  Blair,  "  and  we 
absolutely  refuse  to  concede  the  point." 

"  Your  reasons  ?  "  asked  Marvin  in  turn,  curtly. 

"  Precisely  because  the  summer  is  a  busy  season." 

"  I  understand,"  nodded  Marvin,  "  you  have  an  ad 
vantage  and  you  refuse  to  relinquish  it." 

"  For  a  decided  disadvantage,  yes,"  came  Blair's 
quick  reply. 

"  The  point  is  settled  absolutely,  in  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned,"  emphasized  Ben  Judson,  who  had  been 
eying  Marvin  angrily. 

"  We'll  waive  that  question  and  pass  on  to  a  con 
sideration  of  the  scales,"  repeated  Marvin,  raising  his 
voice.  This  arguing  with  a  spokesman  was  a  diffi 
culty  against  which  he  was  not  forearmed ;  usually  the 
committee  disagreed  among  themselves,  and  experi 
ence  had  taught  him  how  to  widen  the  breach  and 
weaken  the  enemy's  force. 

Marvin  regained  his  composure ;  the  V-wrinkle  in 


252  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

his  brow  smoothed  out.  He  ran  down  the  columns 
of  figures,  with  practised  hand  and  eye.  The  one 
figure  at  the  right  hand  was  the  foundation  on  which 
the  vast  superstructure  of  numbers  rested ;  the  oth 
ers  remained  or  fell  with  it.  It  summed  up  all  the 
sums. 

"  It's  all  wrong,  gentlemen  ;  this  won't  do  at  all. 
You're  too  high.  You've  figured  Bessemer  four  by 
four  billets  at  twenty-three  dollars  a  ton." 

"  It's  the  minimum  figure,"  came  from  the  spokes 
man. 

"  We've  decided  that  we  shall  allow  no  minimum 
figure  hereafter,"  spoke  Marvin,  incisively.  "  If  the 
Company  puts  no  maximum  figure  on  the  price  of 
billets,  the  unions  are  not  justified  in  fixing  a  mini 
mum  figure.  We  never  say  that  wages  shall  not  go 
up  after  billets  reach  a  certain  point;  so  you  are  not 
justified  in  demanding  that  wages  shan't  go  down 
after  billets  reach  a  certain  point." 

'  The  Company  once  fixed  upon  that  minimum," 
claimed  Blair. 

"  And  the  Company  reserves  and  insists  upon  the 
right  to  break  it,"  contradicted  Marvin. 

"  I  can  imagine  a  point,"  argued  Blair,  "  where  the 
tariff  might  be  removed  from  billets  and  force  the 
market  price  down,  while  a  high  tariff  would  force  the 
mill  products  of  the  Company  up.  This  would  mani 
festly  be  unfair  to  the  men." 

"  Imagination  is  all  right  in  a  question  of  proba 
bilities;  but  we  are  here  to  argue  facts,"  asserted  Mar 
vin. 

"  In  a  year's  time  almost  any  probability  may  be 
come  a  fact,"  retorted  Blair. 

Marvin   frowned  on   Blair,   the  lines  of  the   wrin- 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS       253 

kling  V  standing  out  on  his  forehead  like  welts. 
"  Allow  me  to  suggest,  Mr.  - 

"  Mr.  Carrhart,"  and  Blair  filled  in  the  blank. 

Marvin's  shrewd  eyes  fastened  on  the  spokesman, 
with  a  keener,  more  penetrating  eagerness.  So  this 
was  the  young  man  who  had  made  the  tariff  speech 
and  outwitted  him  in  the  first  move  on  the  chess 
board,  who  was  fighting  him  tooth  and  nail  now?  A 
sudden  expression  of  surprise  wavered  over  Marvin's 
sharp,  stern  features.  Blair  felt  it  like  a  shock,  then, 
guessing  the  reason,  his  mind  leaped  to  meet  any  de 
velopment  that  might  arise  as  a  consequence. 

"  I  wished  merely  to  suggest,  Mr.  Carrhart,  that 
we  hold  ourselves  to  the  question  at  hand  as  closely  as 
possible." 

"  We  are  doing  so,"  said  Blair. 

This  man's  quiet,  positive,  masterful  manner  an 
noyed  Marvin  more  and  more ;  Blair's  tactics  were  too 
much  like  his  own  to  be  acceptable.  Marvin,  whose 
memory  for  faces  was  keen,  almost  infallible,  had  been 
baffled  by  Blair's  countenance  the  moment  his  eyes  had 
rested  thereon.  He  had  seen  that  face  or  one  very 
much  like  it  somewhere,  yet  where  he  knew  not. 
Blair's  surname  was  the  tangible  clue  to  the  solution. 

"  Are  you  Robert  Carrhart's,  the  grocer's,  son  ?  " 
he  asked  calmly. 

Marvin  had  considered  whether  or  not  it  would  be 
advisable  to  put  that  question  when  he  offered  his 
last  suggestion ;  indeed  the  advisability  of  the  query 
rather  than  the  inconsequential  remark  was  upper 
most  in  his  mind. 

"  I  am,"  answered  Blair,  undisturbed.  He  had  ex 
pected  the  question ;  he  had  prefigured  his  answer  to 
it  before  he  passed  his  last  retort  courteous. 


254  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  others  looked  on  at  the  digression,  astonished. 
It  was  exactly  what  Marvin  desired.  His  bold  as 
sumption  of  familiarity,  of  acquaintanceship,  might 
breed  suspicion,  suspicion  would  weaken  Blair's  hold, 
lead  to  the  formation  of  a  new  committee ;  and  time 
gained,  all  was  gained. 

"  I  know  your  father;  he  is  an  old  friend  of  mine," 
smiled  Marvin. 

"  I  can't  see  what  that  has  to  do  with  the  case.  Let 
me  quote  you,  Mr.  Marvin,  and  say  that  I  would 
suggest  that  we  hold  ourselves  well  to  the  question  at 
hand." 

If,  for  a  second,  the  men  had  been  suspicious  of 
their  colleague,  if  Marvin's  intimation  of  Blair's  inti 
macy  with  the  plutocracy  had  aroused  the  wavering 
distrust  of  a  second,  Blair's  attitude  and  manner  were 
assuring.  Marvin  clearly  lost  his  point. 

The  president  was  disconcerted.  As  the  skein  of 
the  argument  passed  from  him  to  Blair,  from  Blair  to 
him,  becoming  more  entangled  with  each  remove,  he 
was  obliged  to  struggle  with  a  growing  irritability  for 
patience,  an  invaluable  quality  just  then.  Polite  and 
cautious  circumlocution  turned  into  flat  and  open  con 
tradiction.  Gradually  Marvin's  voice  rose ;  steadily 
he  was  losing  his  temper. 

Blair  retained  the  advantage  of  a  jealously  guarded 
composure,  which  aroused  Marvin  the  more — the  as 
sumption  of  superiority,  he  thought,  was  unwarranted. 

"  The  improved  machinery,  which  the  Company 
has  spent  a  fortune  in  introducing,  is  enabling  our 
men  to  make  a  disproportionate  tonnage  rate.  If  you 
accept  our  scales,  with  the  improved  machinery  in  use, 
your  wages  will  be  higher  than  on  a  twenty-three  dol 
lar  basis,  with  the  old  methods.  Our  money  is  in- 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS       255 

vested  in  that  machinery  and  it  must  be  paid  for  by  the 
profits  from  our  industry,"  spoke  Marvin,  sharply. 

"  But  not  out  of  the  wages  of  the  men,"  answered 
Blair. 

"  It  wasn't  our  proposition  to  pay  for  the  machin 
ery  by  the  saving  made  in  the  reduction  of  wages," 
snapped  the  president.  He  arose  from  his  chair  and 
pressed  both  hands  on  the  table,  his  broad  shoulders 
slightly  stooped. 

"  I  merely  quote  your  words,"  put  in  Blair,  quietly. 

"  You  merely  twist  my  words,"  exclaimed  the  pres 
ident,  his  cheek  flushing  angrily. 

"  The  logic  is  simple  enough,"  replied  Blair,  "  the 
machinery  has  to  be  paid  for  and  you  propose  to  cut 
down  our  wages.  I  judge  from  it  that  the  cut  in  the 
wages  is  to  pay  for  the  investment  in  the  machinery." 

Marvin  sat  down,  grasped  the  arms  of  his  chair 
tightly,  swiveled  around  once  or  twice  and  became 
sure  that  he  was  sure  of  himself  before  he  spoke. 

"  Your  judgment  is  wrong  then,  young  man,"  he 
replied  in  softer  tones,  edging  towards  the  attitude 
of  one  disinterested  in  his  argument. 

"  We  are  perfectly  willing  to  be  convinced,"  came 
from  Blair. 

The  retort  discourteous  was  on  Marvin's  lips,  but 
he  crushed  it.  The  issue  was  great.  A  strike,  with 
the  amount  of  work  and  the  enormous  government 
contracts  the  Company  had  on  hand,  was  no  trifle. 
He  was  on  the  eve  of  the  accomplishment  of  great 
things,  magnificent  schemes  never  dreamed  of  by  steel 
magnate  before — the  building  of  his  own  railroad 
from  the  mills  to  the  coast,  his  line  of  transatlantic 
steamers  from  the  coast  to  the  old  world ;  supremacy 
in  the  markets  at  home  and  abroad.  He  hated  to  see 


256  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  consummation  of  his  dreams  postponed,  and,  on 
that  account,  he  would  turn  the  damper  on  his  anger 
and  treat  the  men  pleasantly ;  but  recede  from  his 
position  he  would  not,  let  the  cost  be  what  it  might. 

"  I  didn't  say,  Mr.  Carrhart,  if  you  will  recollect," 
explained  Marvin,  "  that  it  is  either  our  intention  or 
our  desire  to  cut  down  wages.  I  put  it  the  other  way 
— the  new  machinery  makes  such  a  large  tonnage 
output  possible  that  the  scale  you  demand  would  in 
crease  wages  inordinately  and  leave  no  profit  for  the 
Company." 

He  lifted  the  long  sheets  of  paper  that  lay  in  square 
piles  in  front  of  him,  adjusted  his  pince-nez  and  went 
on  to  say : 

"  Now  let's  get  down  to  figures.  I'll  prove  my 
argument." 

He  rolled  off  a  great  mass  of  unwieldy  computa 
tions — prices,  wages,  time,  tonnages,  per  cents.  He 
marshaled  the  figures  into  the  line  of  his  general 
argument,  trying  to  reinforce  and  strengthen  it  by 
massed  cohorts  of  actual  reckonings.  It  was  the 
skilful  mastery  of  a  man  who  values  the  power  of 
mathematics.  Then,  from  the  glare  of  so  bewilder 
ing  a  multitude,  he  attempted  to  educe  a  few  first 
principles  that  must  win  by  the  sheer  force  of  their 
simplicity. 

The  men  drew  their  chairs  closer  to  the  table,  took 
paper  and  pencil  and  calculated  with  him. 

His  array  of  figures  was  intended  to  carry  three  or 
four  points  by  storm,  to  center  their  united  strength 
around  them,  and  thus  captained  to  retreat  from  the 
field  victoriously.  His  host  of  particulars  were  in 
tended  to  gain  these  few  generalizations :  the  pro 
posed  reduction  in  the  tonnage  rates  applied  to  but  a 


DRAMATIC  MOMENTS       257 

few  departments ;  the  wages  of  the  men,  for  the  greater 
part,  remaining  practically  unchanged,  of  the  five 
thousand  men  employed  only  five  hundred  would  be 
affected.  No  reduction  was  proposed  in  any  mill 
where  the  output  was  not  vastly  increased  by  the  new 
machinery.  The  new  inventions  had  made  an  increase 
of  fifty  per  cent,  in  tonnage ;  and  wages  on  the  Com 
pany's  proposed  scale,  owing  to  this  improved  ma 
chinery,  would  be  larger  than  on  the  present  scale, 
with  the  old  machinery.  And,  moreover,  there  had 
been  a  decided  drop  in  the  market  price  of  goods, 
which  made  the  change  in  scales  imperative. 

He -put  all  his  intensity  and  vigor  in  the  summing 
up  of  his  final  plea,  assured  that  it  would  convince, 
resolved,  if  it  did  not,  to  argue  no  more  on  that  morn 
ing,  but  to  allow  the  men  to  reflect  on  what  he  had  said, 
to  talk  the  matter  over  in  their  lodges  and  to  return  on 
the  following  or  the  morning  thereafter  for  a  deci 
sion. 

The  committee  sat  in  quiet ;  all  looked  towards 
Blair  to  sum  up  their  objections  and  present  their 
differences  in  opinion. 

Their  manner  nettled  Marvin.  Were  they  so  many 
sheep  to  be  directed  by  the  thud  of  this  shepherd's 
staff?  Why  couldn't  they  think  for  themselves  and 
agree  with  him? 

"  Well,"  asked  Marvin,  with  a  start,  "  don't  you  be 
lieve  what  I  have  said  is  fair  and  just  and  right?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  answered  Blair,  "  I  don't  think  so !  And 
I'm  sure  that  I  speak  for  the  others  when  I  say  no. 
The  introduction  of  the  new  machinery,  looked  at  in 
the  light  of  to-day,  has  been  more  of  a  curse  than  a 
blessing  to  the  men.  It  has  displaced  hundreds. 
Still,  the  Amalgamated  Association  is  a  progressive 


258  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

body ;  it  looks  farther  ahead  than  to-day  or  to-morrow 
and  it  has  never  opposed  inventions.  But  we  do  be 
lieve  that  we  should  share  the  benefits  accruing  from 
the  use  of  new  machinery  with  our  employers.  There 
is  an  old  saying,  Mr.  Marvin,  that  figures  don't  lie, 
but,  like  most  old  sayings,  it  has  been  accepted  for 
gospel  merely  because  it  has  been  said  so  long.  I 
don't  believe  in  it  myself.  Your  figures  do  lie." 

"  See  here !  "  shouted  Marvin,  "  I  have  had  enough 
of  this  kind  of  dictation.  I  propose  to  run  my  mills 
to  suit  myself.  I  shan't  tolerate  my  workingmcn 
coming  into  my  office  and  telling  me  what  I  should  do 
and  what  I  should  not  do." 

"  Don't  you  think,  Mr.  Marvin,"  questioned  Blair, 
his  calmness  regained,  "  that  where  you  employ  over 
five  thousand  men  you  owe  the  public  some  consider 
ation  and  responsibility  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  before  the  United  States  Labor  Commis 
sion  for  examination." 

"  You  may  be  before  long." 

"  That's  my  business.  I  have  had  enough  of  this 
kind  of  talk.  I'm  sick  of  this  one-man  power.  Either, 
gentlemen,  this  man  leaves  your  committtee  or  this 
meeting  will  come  to  an  end." 

"  We  stand  by  every  word  he  has  said,"  shouted 
Ben  Judson,  who  had  been  listening  with  a  sullen 
frown. 

"  It  will  come  to  an  end  then,"  said  Winslow,  ris 
ing.  The  others,  putting  on  their  hats,  followed  suit. 

"  Very  well,"  declared  Marvin  sternly,  bringing  his 
closed  fist  down  on  the  table,  "  you  may  consider  all 
discussion  between  the  Company  and  yourselves  as 
over." 


XXIV 

AMID  GREEN  FIELDS 

SUNDAY,  the  day  after  the  interview  in  Marvin's 
office,  found  Blair  careworn  and  distressed. 
He  proposed  an  afternoon  in  the  country  to 
Martha,  and  he  felt  relieved  when  his  proposal  was 
accepted ;  the  load  on  his  mind  was  crushing  and  he 
was  anxious  to  lay  it  aside  if  only  to  assume  it  again 
with  strength  renewed. 

The  trolley  bore  the  pair  whizzing  through  the  low 
flat  land  of  Marvin,  parched,  monotonously  unattrac 
tive.  Martha  sat  in  quiet,  meditating,  her  hands 
clasped  in  her  lap,  as  ever  a  picture  of  poise  and  com 
posure.  Reliant,  strong,  decided,  Martha  seemed  to 
need  no  man's  protection. 

They  crossed  the  fields  and  made  for  a  wooded  spot 
that  stood  lonely  and  inviting,  offering  seclusion,  in 
the  vast  stretches  of  open  prairie.  The  rows  of  Lom- 
bardy  poplars  lifted  their  silver  leaves,  rustling  in 
the  westering  breezes,  straight  to  the  sky.  Twenty 
paces  away,  half  hidden  by  scrub-oaks,  bending  low,  a 
short  canal  ran  its  draining  course.  A  stone's  throw 
away  green  corn  wavered  and  shimmered  on  the  cul 
tivated  acres  of  a  vegetable  farm.  Blair  lay  in  the 
lush  grass,  sprawling  out  at  full  length,  gazing  dream 
ily  at  the  blue  skies.  The  soft  atmosphere  rolled  and 
sifted  through  the  objects  of  the  Dutch-like  landscape. 
259 


260  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

She  sat  beside  him,  her  strong  hands  clasped  around 
her  drawn-up  knees. 

He  lay  silent,  intellectually  lazy,  perfectly  happy  for 
those  few  minutes,  then  the  obsessing  thought  of  the 
impending  strike  played  havoc  with  the  sweetness  of 
doing  nothing;  as  if  compelled  he  began  to  outline 
eventualities  and  possibilities  for  Martha.  Monday 
was  pay-day ;  the  Company  would  probably  discharge 
the  men  then  and  offer  to  neemploy  them,  if  they 
would  accept  its  own  terms  and  forswear  allegiance 
to  their  union.  In  that  case  a  strike  would  be  declared. 
He  gave  a  synopsis  of  his  plans  and  preparations ;  he 
concluded  by  telling  how  the  Cooperative  Common 
wealth  would  make  strikes  impossible.  She  listened 
patiently,  apparently  neither  indifferent  nor  concerned. 

He  stopped  suddenly,  as  if  he  had  been  interrupted. 
"  You  never  seem  particularly  interested  in  my  hopes 
and  schemes,  Martha." 

Time  and  time  again,  ever  with  a  bitter  force  re 
newed,  it  had  come  home  to  him  that  this  girl  of  the 
people  (he  was  pleased  to  term  her  thus) — this  repre 
sentative  of  the  unnumbered  thousands  whose  condi 
tion,  spiritual  and  material,  he  wished  to  better, 
stretched  no  welcoming  hand  towards  his  rod  of  deliv 
erance. 

"  Yes,  I  am,  Blair,"  she  contradicted.  "  What 
makes  you  say  that?  I  like  to  hear  you  talk  so  ear 
nestly." 

"  That's  just  the  point ;  it's  my  pleading  rather  than 
my  plea  that  interests  you.  Isn't  it  now?  " 

She  was  silent  a  minute.  "  Perhaps  that's  it,  to  be 
honest.  You  get  so  thoroughly  aroused.  You  seem 
to  believe  in  it  so  thoroughly,  as  if  it  were  all  actual 
and  true." 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS         261 

"Well,  isn't  it?"  he  asked,  nettled,  with  a  slight 
tinge  of  anger. 

"  Oh,  come,  do  let  us  talk  about  something  else. 
The  beautiful  afternoon  will  be  gone  before  we  know 
it  and  we  have  plowed  through  that  same  ground 
so  often." 

There  it  was  again,  that  same  eternal  spirit  of  de 
nial,  of  listlessness,  of  utter  apathy  for  his  cherished 
dream.  It  grieved  him  to  the  very  soul.  It  all  but 
toppled  his  strong  faith  in  the  foundation  whereon  he 
built.  If  Martha,  all  things  considered,  mocked  at 
his  gospel,  whither  should  he  seek  disciples?  If  those 
from  below  lifted  not  a  groping  hand  upwards,  where 
was  salvation  to  be  sought  ? 

"  It's  the  most  interesting  subject  in  the  world  to 
me,"  he  insisted,  bent  upon  pressing  his  point. 

"  Well,  since  you  won't  let  me  leave  it,  I  suppose 
that's  because  it's  a  new  field  to  you  and  it's  a  very  old 
field  to  me.  I  spring  from  the  generations,  you  see, 
that  have  tilled  the  soil ;  you  come  from  the  generations 
that  have  earned  their  bread  by  the  use  of  their  intel 
lects,  by  the  sweat  of  their  brains  instead  of  their 
brows.  You  force  yourself  into  the  place  of  the 
heavers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water  and  imag 
ine  from  your  own  sufferings  that  they  suffer  far  more 
than  they  do  in  reality." 

"  Force  myself  into  it !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Am  I 
not  of  them  ?  Don't  I  earn  my  bread  by  the  same  toil  ? 
What  nonsense  is  that  you  are  preaching  about  the 
generations  of  brain-workers  behind  me  ?  " 

She  laughed  with  a  mocking,  sarcastic,  almost  sar 
donic  emphasis.  "  You  ought  to  give  up  playing  that 
part.  You  have  played  it  so  long  that  it  must  be  tire 
some  to  even  you.  Besides,  to  the  discerning — I  am 


262  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

brutally    frank,    perhaps — you    don't    play  it    overly 
well." 

"  I  declare  I  don't  see  what  you  are  driving  at." 

"  Oh,  don't  you  ?  "  and  she  clasped  her  ringers  over 
her  thumbs.  He  had  seen  her  do  that  same  thing 
once  before ;  the  action  was  ominous  enough. 

"  I  don't,"  reiterated  Blair. 

"  You  bear  every  mark  of  the  common  laborer  and 
of  a  common  ancestry,"  she  laughed  bitterly  again. 
"  I  always  knew  it.  I  saw  through  it  the  moment  I 
saw  you." 

He  looked  at  her  wonderingly. 

"  You  needn't  wonder  at  my  cleverness.  It  isn't 
cleverness  on  my  part,  not  a  bit  of  it ;  it's  merely 
twenty-four  years  of  human  experience  in  this  world ; 
and  that,  if  you  have  seen  enough  of  people  and  life, 
takes  the  place  of  a  great  deal  of  cleverness.  Even 
the  stupid  acquire  a  kind  of  thin,  paper-thick  bright 
ness  if  they  have  traveled  enough." 

She  remained  silent,  as  if  she  chose  to  say  but 
enough  to  pique  his  curiosity,  not  enough  to  dull  its 
edge  by  feeding  it  to  satiety. 

"  Well,  go  on.  You  are  mystifying.  You  have 
pushed  me  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  of  suspense,  now 
pull  me  back."  He  drew  his  large  body  up  to  a  sitting 
posture  and  looked  at  her  intently. 

"  Pull  you  back  or  throw  you  over,"  she  laughed 
provokingly,  tauntingly. 

"  Yes,  either  one  or  the  other." 

"  I  think  I'll  leave  you  where  you  are;  you  deserve 
punishment  for  trying  to  practise  deceit  on  me,  sir!  " 

"  I  practise  deceit  on  you !  I  don't  know  what  in 
the  world  you  are  driving  at." 

"  No,  the  aristocrat  disguises  himself,  palms  himself 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS         263 

off  for  a  workingman,  is  caught  in  bis  mummery,  and 
then  denies  his  identity.  Oh,  come,  Blair,  any  one 
with  any  sense  at  all  would  know  that  you  had  re 
ceived  the  best  of  breeding." 

"  I  don't  see  yet.  Can't  a  workingman  have  good 
manners?  The  fact  still  remains  that  I  work  in  the 
mill  as  a  leverman,  and,  as  things  run  here,  since  that's 
a  difficult  job  to  get,  I  must  have  worked  hard  and 
long." 

She  smiled  doubtingly  again.  "  Yes,  very  long  and 
hard.  If  I  have  been  informed  aright,  you  secured 
your  present  place  in  about  four  months.  Your  ad 
vance,  they  tell  me,  has  been  unprecedented,  almost 
marvelous." 

"  That  proves  nothing." 

"  Nothing  but  superior  intelligence." 

"  And  superior  intelligence  proves  nothing  but  a 
workingman  with  superior  brains." 

"  And  superior  brains,  manners  and  bearing  are 
strong  arguments  in  proof  of  an  inferior  descent. 
Then  there's  that  little  incident  of  the  ring  to  explain, 
you  must  not  forget  that.  I'm  sure  you  can  explain 
that  and  make  it  consistent  with  your  role." 

"  You  oughtn't  to  demand  that ;  it  involves  another." 

"  I  demand  nothing.  It  is  as  clear  as  the  daylight 
that  it  involves  another,  and  I  say  merely  that  it  is  a 
little  bit,  just  the  very  least  bit  peculiar,  not  to  say 
striking,  that  those  involved  are  the  daughter  of  a 
mill  president  and  one  of  his  common  working- 
men." 

"  It's  odd,  I  admit.  Still,  I  dare  say,  such  things 
have  happened  before." 

"  I  dare  say,  Blair.  I'm  sure  if  the  president  had 
five  thousand  daughters  that  every  one  of  the  multitude 


264  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

would  have  an  affair  of  the  heart  with  some  one  of 
the  five  thousand  laborers." 

"  The  first  of  your  suppositions  is  just  as  probable 
as  the  second." 

"  And  both  are  as  probable  as  the  story  you  would 
have  me  believe  of  yourself." 

Unheard,  her  last  retort  passed  without  answer. 
He  was  plunged  in  the  vortex  of  his  tumultuous 
thoughts.  Should  he  tell  her?  Should  he  cease  to 
play  his  part,  as  she  had  put  it,  doff  his  garb,  and 
standing  forth  in  his  natural  guise,  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it?  He  thought  quickly.  He  sat  like  a 
juror  over  his  debating  mind  and  like  a  defendant 
he  awaited  the  verdict. 

The  expression  on  Martha's  face  was  calm  and  re 
signed.  She  divined  the  battle  of  opposing  thought 
that  was  waging  in  his  mind,  and  the  slight  quick- 
heaving  of  her  breast  was  the  only  thing  that  betrayed 
her  anxiety  as  to  the  result. 

He  summarized  his  past  and  told  her  concisely  the 
object  of  his  coming  to  the  mills.  "  I  need  not  ask 
you,"  he  ended,  "  to  hold  my  confession  in  strict 
secrecy;  you  can  see  why  I  request  that." 

"  No,  you  need  not  to  have  asked  it,  I  should  have 
done  so  anyway."  A  smile,  wavering  between  elation 
and  dejection  over  her  victory,  flitted  across  her  face. 
"I  was  right  in  my  conclusion,  wasn't  I?  I  guessed 
there  was  something  of  that  kind  that  had  brought  you 
here,  although  I  was  not  certain  as  to  what  it  was.  It 
occurred  to  me  in  an  inexplicable  way  a  dozen  or  so  of 
times ;  then  it  passed  out  of  my  mind  about  as  quickly 
as  it  entered  there.  But  when  that  ring  incident 
turned  up  the  whole  matter  was  clear  and  vivid 
enough." 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS        265 

She  spoke  truly,  enlightenment  had  come,  clearly 
and  vividly,  like  a  flash,  but  what  she  had  suffered, 
how  she  had  tortured  herself  to  discover  the  short 
comings  of  her  character  which  might  explain  the 
sudden  change  in  Blair's  affection  for  her,  and  how 
the  unexpected  and  instant  solution  had  tortured  her 
but  the  more — of  these  things  she  said  not  a  word. 

"  You  are  remarkably  intuitive,  Martha,"  went  on 
Blair. 

"  No,  it  isn't  intuition ;  it's  merely  putting  two  and 
two  together." 

"  Other  people  had  the  same  two  and  two  where 
with  to  make  a  four." 

"  It's  a  small  compliment  to  my  intelligence  to  com 
pare  me  with  the  people  hereabouts." 

They  lapsed  into  quiet  for  a  few  minutes,  both  lost 
in  the  mazes  of  their  tortuous  thought.  A  long  white 
cloud  covered  the  sun,  and  the  earth  smelt  fresh  and 
cool.  The  poplar  leaves  rustled  and  stirred.  A  cluck 
ing  hen  warned  her  careless  brood  against  a  hawk, 
floating  in  a  hunt  for  prey. 

Blair  lay  back  in  the  lush  grass,  his  eyes  half  shut, 
lost  in  reverie.  He  thought  of  the  first  time  he  had 
seen  Martha  and  the  almost  ineradicable  impression 
her  strong  personality  had  made  on  him ;  he  recalled 
his  vision  of  that  first  night's  restless  slumber — Mar 
tha,  the  girl  of  the  people,  battling  at  his  side  for  the 
survival  of  his  ideals  against  dangers  from  which 
Evangeline  crouched  in  fear.  How  baseless  was  the 
stuff  of  which  that  vision  was  spun!  How  waking 
reality  had  torn  the  dream-woven  fabric  into  shreds! 

It  is  far  rarer  that  the  love  of  a  man  for  a  woman  is 
awakened  by  sympathy  than  a  woman's  love  is  called 
into  being  for  a  man  by  this  emotion  so  akin  to  pity, 


266  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

which  is  so  akin  to  love;  but  Blair,  as  usual,  reversed 
the  order  and  fitness  of  things.  He  was  too  much 
inclined  to  indulge  an  iconoclastic  fancy  in  fitful  rev 
eries  of  what  should  be.  In  Blair's  grammar  the 
present  tense  found  small  place ;  subjunctives  and 
futures  predominated.  He  was  rarely  willing  to  take 
anything  for  what  it  was  or  leave  it  where  it  was.  He 
had  magnified  Martha's  abilities,  striking  and  versa 
tile  though  they  were,  and  in  an  equal  and  unfair  ratio 
he  had  magnified  the  obstacles  against  which  she  had 
to  contend. 

Most  people,  he  told  himself,  are  illusioned  by  others  ; 
he  had  illusioned  himself.  He  had  believed  he  loved. 
He  had  mistaken  sympathy  for  affection.  How  easy 
to  lend  a  wooden  idol  the  powers  and  attributes  of 
divinity,  if  one  but  believe  in  the  divinity  of  the  idol ! 

Martha  sat  composedly,  her  hands  folded  in  her  lap ; 
her  eyes  following  the  curving  of  the  hawk's  outspread 
wings,  her  unhappy  thoughts  afar.  How  could  she 
explain  Blair's  sudden  affection  for  her,  its  still 
swifter  disappearance?  What  were  her  virtues  that 
had  won  it;  her  ignominious  shortcomings  that  had 
lost  it?  To  say  that  Evangeline  Marvin  had  come 
mysteriously,  with  ghostlike  shimmer,  between  them, 
was  a  solution  that  did  not  solve.  What  had  this 
Miss  Evangeline  Marvin  that  she  had  not?  Wealth? 
Beauty?  Refinement?  Sweetness  and  light  of  char 
acter?  If  she  could  but  see  her  that  she  might  know, 
she  would  willingly  suffer  new  and  inexperienced  tor 
tures  of  jealousy  to  evade  this  endless  torture  of 
doubt,  this  prodding  introspection  that  racked  her 
mind  and  heart. 

She  burst  out  in  a  sudden  laugh,  nipped  short,  like 
a  sentence  stopped  suddenly  on  its  road  towards  com- 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS        267 

pletion — that  laugh  peculiar  to  Martha,  short,  half- 
concealed  and  half-revealed,  tinged  with  a  shade  of 
bitterness. 

"  What  occasioned  that  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  she  answered  dryly. 

He  did  not  plead  for  an  answer,  knowing  that  she 
would  volunteer  it,  which  she  did. 

"  I  can't  help  but  laugh.  I  don't  wish  to  appear 
unkind,  but  it  was  such  a  strange  thing  to  have  done. 
You  know,  I  can't  imagine  any  one  doing  such  a  thing 
as  that,  to  leave  the  luxuries  and  comforts  of  such  a 
home  as  you  had  for  poverty  and  toil ;  to  exchange 
your  prospects  and  future  for  the  work  of  a  mill-hand ! 
It's  terrible  enough  to  be  forced  into  such  a  course  of 
conduct  when  reverses  come  to  one  and  there  is  noth 
ing  else  left,  but  to  go  about  it  in  cold  blood  and  with 
aforethought !  The  other  way  around  would  be 
natural  and  explicable,  I  could  understand  that. 
Why,  that's  for  what  all  of  us  here  are  working  and 
slaving  and  giving  our  lives,  to  advance  cur  interests, 
to  improve  our  material  conditions.  It's  the  hope 
that  sustains  us — that  some  day  we  may  have  beauti 
ful  homes,  perhaps,  and  the  comforts  of  wealth.  And 
the  blessings  have  been  put  at  your  feet  and  you  kick 
them  away.  Oh  !  " 

With  her  own  hands  how  fast  was  Martha  crum 
bling  to  dust  the  idol  Blair  had  erected  to  her  in  the 
shrine  of  his  affections !  Offering  no  excuse  for  her 
assailment,  Martha  continued : 

"  I  wish  I  had  your  opportunities.  I  wouldn't  wait 
for  the  next  train  to  carry  me  back ;  I'd  run.  Sur 
roundings  such  as  must  have  been  yours  have  been  my 
castle  in  Spain,  and  here  I  am  condemned  to  slave  in 
a  miserable  school,  to  wear  my  life  out  for  a  niggardly 


268  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

stipend.  And  you  have  the  castle  already  built  and 
you  jump  out  of  the  window!  I  can't  comprehend 
it !  '*  she  gasped. 

"  You  always  overestimate  the  happiness  that  money 
can  bestow,  Martha.  If  you  had  had  it,  you  would 
know  what  little  peace  of  mind  it  confers.  I've  had 
it,  and  perhaps  that's  why  I  know  its  limitations/' 

"  Well,  I  know  what  distress  of  mind  the  absence 
of  money  brings  at  any  rate.  It  means  power,  doesn't 
it?  And  if  I  were  a  man  I  should  prefer  power  to 
any  other  gift,  making  people  do  what  you  want  in 
stead  of  being  obliged,  like  I  am,  to  do  what  people 
want  you  to  do!  For  me  it  would  mean  educat'on 
and  leisure  and  release  from  drudgery,  and  the  society 
I  prefer." 

'''  You  think  so,''  he  said  kindly,  "  but  you  are  mis 
taken.  Girls  with  money  are  as  confined  in  the  choos 
ing  of  their  companions  as  those  without  it — even 
more  so ;  both  are  held  in  the  bonds  of  their  own  set." 

:<  Yes,  I  presume  the  wealthy  are  pestered  just  as 
much  as  I  am  by  the  ignorant,  the  stupid  and  the  al 
together  vulgar.'' 

"  Just  as  much,"  he  answered  firmly,  "  I  never 
heard  that  money  was  a  bar  to  stupidity." 

"  It  ought  to  be.  If  I  had  it  I  would  make  it  one ; 
I  would  keep  the  stupid  out.  I  am  powerless  this 
way/' 

"  Well,  Martha,  and  if  you  had  the  money  you 
crave,  what  would  you  do?  " 

"  I  don't  care  to  say  what  my  ambitions  are.  I've 
given  them  up  one  by  one  long  ago ;  they  starved  for 
lack  of  money  whereon  to  feed." 

"  I  can't  believe  that.  If  you  really  had  the  ambi 
tions  and  if  your  abilities  were  equal  to  your  ambi- 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS        269 

tions,  you  would  have  accomplished.  The  lack  of 
money  would  have  been  a  spur  instead  of  a  halter.  I 
don't  wish  to  be  severe,  but  we've  both  been  talking 
plainly.  For  one,  I  never  believed  much  in  '  the  mute 
inglorious  Miltons  '  that  Gray  talks  about ;  their  mute 
ness  caused  their  ingloriousness.  Lack  of  money 
couldn't  make  a  Milton  mute,  nor  could  millions  make 
Gray's  mutes  Miltons." 

Her  sudden  laugh  irritated  him  as  a  note  out  of 
tune  to  the  current  music  of  his  thoughts. 

"  Why  that  laugh,  I  ask  again?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing." 

He  remained  quiet,  awaiting  but  not  pressing  an 
answer;  as  before  she  vouchsafed  it. 

"  Somebody  is  very  consistent !  I  don't  see  why 
you  are  a  socialist.  What  is  the  good  of  having 
things  equal ;  of  improving  the  material  condition  of 
the  masses,  if  the  improvement,  if  money,  isn't  going 
to  make  them  any  happier ;  if  the  possession  or  lack  of 
money  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  producing  of  great 
men  and  the  furthering  of  worthy  ambitions  ?  " 

He  had  been  arguing  in  part  against  his  own  con 
victions  to  convince  her,  striving  to  make  her  con 
tented  with  her  own  lot;  but  she  had  pierced  the  fun 
damental  weakness  of  his  position  with  a  logical  ease 
that  surprised  him. 

"  Socialism,"  he  answered  undaunted,  "  believes 
that  the  evil  lies  in  extremes." 

Her  underlip  curled  ironically,  in  a  way  that  de 
clared  victory  unworthy  the  effort  of  verbal  battle. 

"  I  don't  see  what  you  expect  to  accomplish  any 
way,"  she  hastened  to  say,  as  if  the  thought  had  been 
in  her  own  mind  for  a  long  while  and  must  out.  "  You 
have  given  up  home  and  prospects  to  enter  the  mill 


270  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

and  I  doubt  very  much  if  any  one  thanks  you  for  it 
particularly.  You  can't  change  the  order  of  the  uni 
verse.  No  man  can.  Do  you  suppose  that  any  one 
will  repay  you  for  your  sacrifice?  If  you  were  starv 
ing  to-morrow  who  would  share  their  day's  wage  with 
you?  The  Poles  and  Hungarians  you  have  come  to 
spiritualize  and  benefit  ?  " 

'  The  labor  must  be  its  own  reward,''  he  answered ; 
"  no  matter  what  the  outcome  I  shall  rest  satisfied 
with  that." 

'  You  will  have  your  pains  for  your  thanks,  I  am 
sure  of  that.  If  I  were  you  I  would  go  back  to 
morrow  and  improve  the  opportunity  that  most  of  us 
would  sell  our  souls  to  have.  I  would  accumulate 
wealth  and  turn  it  to  good  uses ;  a  thousand  chances 
will  present  themselves  later  on,  if  you  are  so  minded. 
Money  is  the  power  and  down  in  your  heart  of  hearts 
you  know  it,  and  you  can  do  thrice  the  good  with  it 
that  you  ever  can  with  your  mere  ideas.  You  will  re 
gret  it  some  day,  when  it  is  too  late  if  you  don't.  Oh, 
if  I  only  had  the  chance.  You  must  be  mad !  " 

"  I  think  your  views  are  mercenary  and  sordid, 
Martha." 

"No,  they're  not.  I  only  want  money  as  a  means 
to  an  end,  and  there's  no  end,  worth  the  while,  that 
you  can  reach  without  it." 

"  I  shall  reach  my  end,''  he  retorted  sharply,  "  with 
out  it,  although,  according  to  your  reckoning,  it  can't 
be  worth  the  while." 

"  Perhaps  I  have  spoken  too  openly,  with  more  can- 
didness  than  I  had  the  right ;  but  I  don't  mean  to  hurt 
you,  Blair.  I  should  feel  sorry,  believe  me,  if  I  did 
that.  And  I  do  admire  the  nobility  of  your  conduct. 
I  do  think  it  took  a  great  deal  of  character,  and  fine 


AMID  GREEN  FIELDS        271 

character,  to  do  what  you  have  done.  I  can't  find 
words  to  express  what  I  think  of  your  resoluteness 
and " 

"  I  know  somebody  that's  consistent,"  he  inter 
rupted,  more  ruffled  by  her  praise  than  he  had  been 
angered  by  her  reproof. 

"  A  woman  may  be  inconsistent,  you  know ;  that's 
her  prerogative.  Any  virtue  carried  too  far  may  be 
come  a  vice ;  and  you  ought  to  allow  me  the  common 
failing  of  my  sex.  So,  with  your  permission,  I  will 
repeat  what  I  have  just  said.  I  do  admire  your  ven 
ture  very  much.  I  think  you  are  a  man  in  a  million. 
Those  who  have  nothing  to  lose  deserve  little  credit 
for  venturing  all,  but  you  who  have  nothing  to  gain 
and  venture  your  all  for  others — yes,  I  do  admire  that. 
But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  sacrificing  too  much  for 
others  and  then  finding  that  the  others  weren't  worth 
the  sacrifice.  That's  terrible !  It's  the  tragedy  of  a 
wasted  life.  Besides,  I  think  it's  sinful,  wicked,  to  waste 
a  great  opportunity,  and  I  believe  you  are  doing  it." 

The  old  doubt  crawled  in  upon  him  as  he  listened ; 
the  ramifications  of  its  innumerable  suggestions 
twined  around  the  soul  of  his  aspirations  and  threat 
ened  to  choke  them.  He  seized  the  folds  of  its  serpen 
tine  body  and  jerked  it  off.  His  bent  face  lifted  up  to 
hers ;  the  light  of  faith  shone  radiantly  there.  His 
clear  voice  rang  with  erstwhile  conviction.  He  arose 
to  his  feet,  towering  above  her. 

"  It  is  the  noblest  and  grandest  cause  on  earth.  A 
great  cause  demands  great  sacrifices,  and  I  consider 
my  own  sacrifice  too  small  for  the  sublimity  of  the 
cause.  You  are  incapable  of  understanding  it,  of  ap 
preciating  it.  We  will  never  speak  of  it  again.  I  see 
my  own  way  clearly,  I  will  walk  it  alone." 


272  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

She  gazed  on  him,  half-startled,  half-dazzled  by  the 
transfiguration  in  his  appearance.  She  arose  slowly, 
saying  nothing.  In  quiet  they  moved  towards  the 
car.  The  sun  had  set  in  the  west,  a  glow  of  colors 
marked  its  sinking  course ;  the  fields  were  hushed,  sol 
emnly  quiet ;  the  world  seemed  ready  to  fall  into  the 
arms  of  night  and  sleep. 

Blair's  soul  was  strong;  he  craved  others  to  pro 
tect  rather  than  the  protection  of  others.  He  was  a 
trellis,  not  a  vine ;  he  wished  to  uphold,  not  to  be 
upheld.  He  was  shield  and  sword  too.  The  moment 
she  put  herself  in  front  of  him,  unconsciously,  without 
the  knowledge  of  either,  she  put  herself  away  from 
him,  scorning  the  armor  and  weapon  of  his  defense, 
forfeiting  his  affection.  Had  she  placed  her  weakness 
in  the  charge  and  confidence  of  his  strength,  his  arm 
might  have  enfolded  her  lovingly. 

She  doubted  his  cause;  she  doubted  him.  Hence 
forth,  try  as  he  would,  pray  as  she  might,  neither 
sword  nor  shield  was  for  her. 


XXV 

EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT 

MONDAY  was  pay-day.  The  saloons  were 
thronged  by  men  cashing  their  slips,  from 
which  the  -saloonkeepers  extracted  a  cus 
tomary  two  per  cent,  for  the  accommodation.  The 
plate-mill  and  the  open-hearth  furnaces  shut  down; 
eight  hundred  men  were  quietly  paid  off  and  dis 
charged.  It  was  to  start,  then,  with  a  lock-out  and 
not  a  strike.  For  the  second  time  the  Company  took 
the  initiative  on  the  checker-board. 

The  Dumb-Bell  was  crowded  to  the  doors  and  the 
huge  proprietor  growled  at  the  small  amount  of 
change  which  crossed  his  bar  and  found  lodging  in 
his  cash-register.  The  Company's  method  of  pay 
ment  usually  gave  the  saloons  the  first  chance  at  the 
men's  wages;  but  to-day  the  advantage  availed 
naught. 

The  army  of  workers  expected  a  siege — a  long 
one,  no  doubt — and  they  were  guarding  their  ammu 
nition  jealously.  Money  is  as  necessary  for  a  strike 
as  a  war;  an  empty  treasury  means  a  swift  capitu 
lation. 

For  the  greater  part  the  patrons  of  the  Dumb-Bell 
were  depressed  and  anxious.  There  was  some  revolu 
tionary  talk ;  some  wild  threats ;  some  vain  boasts ; 
but  the  eruptions  were  sporadic  and  did  not  meet  with 
18  273 


274  BY   BREAD   ALONE 

the  sympathy  of  a  general  encouragement.  The  hun 
dreds  of  men  became  as  one  who  girds  his  loins  for  a 
hazardous  undertaking,  wasting  no  breath  in  empty 
clamor. 

That  night  the  long  line  of  stores  on  S  street  was 
deserted.  The  drunkenness  and  the  dissipation  that 
mark  pay-day  were  conspicuously  absent.  In  Polish 
Town,  in  the  foreign  quarters,  not  a  loud  cry,  not  an 
angry  voice  burst  on  the  silence,  strangely  unbroken, 
unusually  thick.  Men  moved  through  the  streets  as 
ever,  dinner-pails  in  arm,  on  their  way  to  and  from 
the  mills. 

Inside  the  mills,  the  shutting  down  of  the  two  de 
partments  had  by  no  means  ended  the  activity ;  there 
was  the  customary  blowing  of  the  whistles ;  the  hol 
low  white  glare  from  the  converters ;  the  rumble  and 
crash  of  the  rails.  Within  their  homes,  the  men  and 
women  talked  but  little,  and  what  little  talk  there  was 
spent  its  small  force  in  anxious  queries  as  to  where 
bread  would  come  from  in  the  event  of  a  strike  or  a 
complete  lock-out. 

It  was  all  serene  enough ;  but  it  was  the  serenity  of 
a  portentous  sullenness.  The  old,  old  comparison  of 
the  lull  before  the  storm  suggests  itself.  It  may  be 
a  newer  comparison  to  liken  it  unto  the  impassive  face 
of  a  strong-willed  man,  deep  within  whom  and  hidden 
burns  the  passion  for  vengeance. 

When  Blair  and  Ben  ludson,  tired  out  from  the 
arduous  labors  of  that  day,  returned  home,  they  found 
the  family  anxious  to  hear  the  news.  Old  Judson 
shook  a  deprecatory  head  as  each  new  development 
was  unfolded. 

"  It's  bad  business,  boys ;  it's  bad  business,"  he  kept 
saying  lugubriously. 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  275 

Martha,  sitting  in  quiet,  filled  a  sudden  lull  in  the 
conversation  with : 

"  An  admirable  young  lady  called  on  me  to-day ;  do 
you  know  who  it  was  ?  " 

Blair,  to  whom  the  question  was  addressed,  shook 
his  head.  Martha's  eager  manner,  her  apparent 
anxiety  to  tell,  yet  her  peculiar  desire  to  retain  her 
secret  might  have  given  the  clue  to  Blair  had  he  been 
more  alert. 

"  I'll  give  you  ten  guesses,"  she  volunteered,  her 
rounded  breast  heaving  slightly,  her  hands  clasped. 

"  You  might  as  well  give  me  a  million,  and  my  first 
would  be  as  near  as  my  last." 

"  It  was  Evangeline  Marvin." 

Blair  colored.  The  announcement  came  with  the 
full  shock  of  the  unexpected.  He  remained  thought 
ful,  asking  no  questions,  smothering  his  curiosity,  if 
he  had  any,  under  a  guarded  reserve.  Martha's  eyes 
were  on  him,  penetrating,  probing.  His  eyes  became 
as  windows,  through  which,  it  seemed  to  her,  she  could 
see  the  moving  procession  of  his  thoughts. 

"What  in  the  world  did  she  want?"  put  in  Mabel. 
"  I've  seen  her  at  the  office  once  or  twice.  Pretty,  isn't 
she?" 

"  Oh,  very,"  came  from  Martha,  coldly,  her  chin 
bent  down,  her  hands  in  her  lap. 

"  What  in  the  world  did  she  come  to  see  you  for  ?  " 
repeated  Mabel. 

"  You  needn't  act  so  surprised  about  it,  Mabel,"  re 
plied  Martha,  giving  way  to  the  irritation  that  was 
rasping  her,  "  it  really  wasn't  such  a  terrible  conde 
scension  on  Miss  Marvin's  part.  I  presume  she  is 
merely  human,  like  the  rest  of  us." 

"  Only  more  so,  on  account  of  her  wealth,"  smiled 


276  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

Judson,  who  understood  his  daughters  as  thoroughly 
as  if  they  were  the  children  of  other  parents. 

Since  the  incident  of  the  ring,  Blair's  position  in  the 
Judson  household  had  changed  considerably.  The 
family  regarded  him  with  a  new  interest  that  wavered 
between  curiosity  and  suspicion.  He  wished  to 
deaden  instead  of  stimulate  it,  and  his  mind  was  leap 
ing  the  quickly  erected  hurdles  of  pros  and  cons,  seek 
ing  to  gain  a  clear  field  of  action  for  this  especial 
emergency.  It  were  best  to  assume  absolute  indiffer 
ence.  He  held  his  peace. 

"  You're  a  peculiar  piece,  Martha,"  piped  Mrs.  Jud 
son.  "  What  are  you  making  such  a  secret  of  ?  Any 
one  would  think  that  we  were  all  dying  to  hear  what 
that  Marvin  girl  wanted." 

'  That's  right,"  smiled  Judson.  "  Any  one  can  see 
your  ma  don't  care  any  more  than  if  this  Marvin  girl 
was  a  teacher  in  Martha's  school." 

"  Nor  I  don't,"  scolded  his  wife,  "  only  Martha's 
enough  to  give  a  body  the  fidgets  until  she  gets  ready 
to  speak." 

"  Why,"  went  on  Martha  tranquilly,  "  she  is  going 
to  start  a  Social  Settlement  over  here  on  G  street  and 
she  has  asked  me  and  several  of  the  teachers  at  school 
to  help  her."  Hastily  she  sketched  the  purpose  of  the 
institution. 

Blair  looked  up.  His  mad  desire,  for  that  second, 
threw  the  cloak  of  indifference  aside  and  discovered 
itself.  Inwardly  an  ironic  smile  flitted  over  Martha, 
outwardly  she  remained  unmoved. 

"  It  opens  to-morrow  night  and  I  am  invited  to 
bring  with  me  whomever  I  choose.  I " 

"  It's  just  like  you  not  to  go  and  mope  about  here 
at  home,"  scolded  the  mother,  agog  to  have  her  daugh- 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  277 

ter  jibe  shoulders  with  a  representative  of  aristoc 
racy. 

"  Perhaps  I  am  not  bright  enough  to  do  what  she 
wishes,"  deprecated  Martha  sincerely. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  railed  the  mother,  fearful  lest  she 
decline.  "  You're  never  satisfied  unless  you  make 
yourself  out  to  be  a  perfect  dummy.  You're  just  as 
smart  as  the  Marvin  girl  is,  I  reckon." 

"  I  reckon,"  she  sighed  wearily. 

Blair  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  this  dialogue,  seeking  a 
hurried  counsel  in  the  silence  of  his  own  heart.  Should 
he  go?  His  heart  was  already  palpitating  with  the 
ruddy  blood  of  hot  expectancy.  Go?  What  power 
on  earth  could  keep  him  from  going? 

"  Will  you  come  with  us  ?  "  asked  Martha,  her  eyes 
fastened  on  his,  expanding  with  the  strong  light  of 
dreams. 

He  thrilled  as  if  his  thought  had  been  worded  by  a 
spiritual  voice. 

"  Yes,  I'll  go,"  he  answered,  indifference  playing 
its  part  but  poorly. 

On  the  next  night  Martha,  Blair  and  Mabel  were 
preparing  to  leave  for  the  Settlement  when  Mrs.  Jud- 
son  turned  to  her  son  with : 

"  Ben,  you'd  better  go  along ;  it  will  do  you  good  to 
get  out  a  bit.  You're  everlastingly  poking  about  the 
house  like  an  old  man  of  eighty." 

"  Eh  ?  "  asked  Ben,  putting  his  hand  like  a  sound 
board  up  to  his  ear. 

"  Fudge !  "  shouted  his  mother,  repeating  her  in 
junction.  "  Your  deafness  comes  from  imagining  too 
much.  You  can  hear  all  right,  I  notice,  when  there's 
anything  going  on  we  don't  want  you  to  know.  Take 
your  hat  and  go  along." 


278  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Ben  dropped  his  newspaper.  "  Well,  I'll  go  along 
and  see  what  the  thing  is  like,"  and  he  lifted  his  angu 
lar  body  out  of  the  chair. 

"  Enjoy  yourselves,"  said  Judson ;  "  for  charity 
nowadays  is  half  duty  and  half  pleasure,  just  like  play 
ing  the  organ  in  church." 

The  four  moved  towards  the  newly  opened  Settle 
ment.  A  flood  of  light  streaming  through  the  red 
shades  of  the  lamp,  made  even  the  somber  brick  tene 
ment  loom  up  in  an  inviting  manner. 

Finally,  and  after  a  host  of  discouragements, 
Evangeline's  project  was  launched  in  these  last  of 
June  days.  April  was  well  on  its  way  before  Marvin 
gave  his  consent  to  the  scheme,  and  then  one  of  the 
young  women  on  whom  Evangeline  placed  chief  re 
liance  became  ill ;  other  and  minor  obstacles  blocked 
the  path  towards  achievement  until  Evangeline  all  but 
lost  heart.  Now  that  the  auspices  were  favorable,  she 
resolved  to  start  at  once,  despite  the  heat  and  the  un 
timely  season,  lest  the  unforeseen  arise  again  and 
push  her  plans  beyond  the  grasp  of  hope. 

Evangeline  responded  to  their  ring.  She  greeted 
Martha,  who  entered  first,  warmly.  Then  she  saw 
Blair.  The  pink  of  her  cheeks  turned  red.  Her  eyes 
shut  and  opened  quickly  as  if  blinking  from  a  light  too 
strong.  Almost  unconsciously  her  small  hand  slipped 
into  his  powerful  grasp.  "  Oh,  Blair,"  she  murmured, 
as  if  her  breath  were  too  weak  to  carry  the  potent  bur 
den  of  those  simple  words. 

Martha's  eye  was  on  them.  Blair  could  all  but  feel 
her  sharp  glances  scorch  through  his  back.  He  still 
held  Evangeline's  hand,  loath,  powerless  to  let  it  go, 
as  if  their  clasp  made  a  telepathic  circuit  that  carried 
her  thoughts  to  him,  his  thoughts  to  her.  A  rapid  in- 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  279 

troduction  to  Mabel  and  Ben  precluded  even  an  ex 
change  of  commonplaces.  The  bell  rang  again.  The 
four  passed  into  the  parlor. 

The  room,  with  a  varnished  floor,  an  inexpensive 
rug,  a  long  baize-covered  table,  on  which  lay  squares 
of  magazines  and  photographs,  attracted  through  a 
plainness  that  just  escaped  barrenness  arid  just  touched 
the  artistic.  A  portrait  of  Shakespere,  another  of 
Tennyson,  one  of  Dickens  (Evangeline  had  taken  them 
from  the  store-room  at  home)  smiled  literature  down 
on  the  room ;  a  revolving  book-case  was  ready  to  turn 
under  a  Braun's  copy  of  Burne-Jones'  "  Golden 
Stairs/'  which  faced  that  artist's  "  Venus'  Mirror  " ; 
and  a  few  ornaments,  taken  from  the  same  store-room, 
found  shelter  in  odd  nooks  and  corners. 

Two  young  ladies  from  Chicago,  friends  of  Evan 
geline  (Blair  knew  neither  of  them  and  he  was 
heartily  glad  of  it),  tried  to  make  the  newcomers  feel 
at  home.  They  were  novices  and  they  went  about  the 
task  clumsily. 

"  I  presume  work  at  the  mills  must  be  very  trying," 
said  one  of  them,  seeking  to  open  the  door  of  conver 
sation  with  Blair  by  this  sesame. 

"  It's  apt  to  be  hot  in  the  summer,  near  the  fur 
naces.  Can  you  tell  me,"  he  asked  irrelevantly,  "  is 
that  portrait  of  Shakespere  a  Chandon?" 

She  gasped,  acknowledged  her  ignorance  and  re 
treated,  pondering  over  the  interrelation  between 
Shakespere  and  the  rolling-mills.  An  anemic  young 
man,  all  glasses,  no  nose  and  a  feminine  voice,  who  had 
overheard  the  question,  answered  it.  He  had  come  to 
the  Settlement  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  regener 
ating  the  laboring  man  in  a  month  at  the  outermost, 
within  a  week,  provided  he  struck  the  right  material. 


280  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

'  You  appear  to  be  interested  in  Shakespere.  May 
I  ask  when  you  found  time  to  read  him  ?  " 

"  After  working  hours,"  answered  Blair  in  disgust, 
"  when  I  came  home  so  tired  that  I  couldn't  crawl.  I 
spelled  the  words  out  by  the  aid  of  a  candle-light.  I 
might  add  that  I  saved  enough  money  to  purchase  the 
work  by  going  without  my  supper." 

"  What  a  noble  sacrifice  !    It  must  have  been  hard  ?  " 

"  Not  so  very.  Two  meals  come  easy  by  practice. 
Besides,  I  found  nurture  in  the  poetry,  drank  in  his 
words  and  devoured  his  pages." 

The  young  man  followed  the  young  lady.  The 
American  workingman  was  something  of  a  revelation. 
There  was  hope  for  him,  he  told  her.  She  agreed  with 
him. 

Meanwhile  Evangeline's  other  assistant  was  having 
an  easier  time  of  it  with  Ben  Judson,  who  was  dis 
playing  a  readiness  to  converse  that  quite  surprised  his 
sisters  and  Blair. 

The  room  gradually  rilled ;  foreign  toilers  from  the 
mills  dropped  in  by  twos  and  threes,  awkward,  half 
afraid,  timidly  curious.  Swarthy  Hungarian  and  be- 
shawled  Polish  women  gazed  around  the  room  in  won 
derment,  holding  refractory  children  by  the  arm.  Mrs. 
Brodski  was  there  with  Mary  and  Anna.  Some  of  the 
younger  men  were  in  evidence,  bashful  and  stiff,  en 
gaged  in  trying  to  find  use  for  their  hands.  All  were 
keenly  alert,  nervously  awaiting  the  developments  of 
this  unheard-of  event. 

La  Vette  and  Putnam,  who  were  pledged  to  the  as 
sistance  of  the  enterprise,  wedged  their  way  through 
the  parlor.  Smilingly,  Putnam  gave  a  nod  of  recog 
nition  to  Mabel.  An  introduction  to  Martha  followed 
and  Putnam's  slow  wit  grew  out  of  breath  in  an  at- 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  281 

tempt  to  keep  pace  with  that  young  woman's  quick 
repartee. 

La  Vette's  owl-like  eyes  missed  nothing,  but  his 
face  remained  expressionless,  in  no  wise  reflecting  the 
irony  of  his  thoughts.  Evangeline,  sanguine  of  suc 
cess,  flitted  butterfly-like  through  the  room,  resting  in 
no  one  place  long,  but  in  all  places  long  enough  to 
leave  a  sincere  word  of  welcome. 

La  Vette  followed  her  roving  flight,  and  before  this 
vision  of  purity,  hope,  and  sweetness,  his  sardonic  re 
flections  ceased  and  his  heart  softened.  He  rebelled 
against  her  influence  as  he  had  rebelled  before.  Her 
fresh  na'ive  maidenliness  had  a  way  of  tossing  aside 
the  accumulated  evils  of  his  nature  and  reaching  the 
one  kernel  of  good  hidden  in  the  filth  of  the  noisome 
pile.  He  loved  to  be  in  her  presence,  to  bask  in  the 
radiating  sunshine  of  her  light-bearing  character,  he 
knew  not  why.  He  recalled  the  evening  of  the  co 
tillon,  his  conversation  with  her,  his  ride  home  in  the 
cab  through  the  starry  wintry  night  and  his  grim 
endeavor  to  crush  every  thought  of  her  out  of  his 
soul.  Well,  if  it  should  become  necessary,  he  would 
go  through  the  same  battle  again  and  conquer  again. 

Putnam  assumed  the  difficult  task  of  keeping  his 
eyes  on  Evangeline,  his  mind  on  what  Martha  was 
saying.  Martha,  in  her  observant  manner,  was  swift 
to  detect  his  silent  adoration.  "  So,  Mr.  Blair  has  a 
rival,"  she  thought.  She  exerted  herself  to  start  Put 
nam  outside  of  the  oft-traveled  rut  into  the  byways 
of  conversation.  She  led;  he  followed.  She  was 
taking  his  intellectual  measure.  The  measurements 
told  her,  what  she  was  not  over-rejoiced  to  discover, 
that  between  Blair  and  Putnam  were  many  inches  of 
difference,  all  in  Blair's  favor. 


282  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Blair  greeted  Mrs,  Brodski  and  her  children,  who 
were  rejoiced  to  see  their  old  friend  again,  and  who 
felt  more  comfortable  on  finding  him.  there ;  then  he 
joined  Mabel  and  Ben.  He  remained  abstracted,  lost 
in  reverie.  Could  he  allow  himself  to  believe  that  his 
presence  in  Marvin  was  the  motive  which  actuated 
Evangeline's  emprise?  Now  and  then  his  glances 
rested  on  Evangeline,  who,  unknown  to  herself, 
was  the  cynosure  for  Martha,  Putnam  and  La 
Vette. 

Suddenly  La  Yette  broke  on  the  circle  of  Blair's 
vision.  The  chemist's  sloping  face  puzzled  him  fasci 
natingly.  Where  had  he  seen  him  before?  The  dark 
Van  Dyke  beard,  the  short,  fat  body,  he  had  been 
struck  by  these  once,  but  where  and  how?  It  dawned 
on  him  in  one  broad  illuminating  flash.  Yes,  it  was 
on  that  cold  night  when  he  and  Michael  stood  in  the 
shelter  of  the  darkness  and  watched  the  stealthy  en 
trance  of  the  anarchists  into  Sophia  Goldstein's  shack. 
So,  he  belonged  to  that  hateful  brood !  La  Vette 
smacked  of  aristocracy ;  was  there  treason  in  high 
places?  Blair  shuddered. 

La  Vette's  eyes,  cold,  steely,  met  Blair's  scruti 
nizing  gaze  for  a  second.  Immediately  the  chemist 
walked  up  to  Blair,  planting  his  fat  paunch  squarely 
in  front  of  him. 

"  Your  name  is  Carrhart,  is  it  not  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  that's  my  name.  But  you  have  the  better 
of  me,"  he  remarked;  and  to  himself,  "  The  man  is  a 
fish,  a  fish." 

"  Mine's  La  Vette.  I'm  the  head  chemist  in  the 
laboratory.  I've  heard  of  you  often.  You've  estab 
lished  a  reputation  in  the  mills  in  a  wonderfully  quick 
time.  I  read  your  tariff  speech  and  I  heard  r.bout  your 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT   283 

encounter  with  Marvin  on  the  scale  question.  That 
was  a  brave  deed  of  yours  in  the  rail-mill." 

Blair  nodded ;  La  Vette  remained  quiet.  Two  strong 
men  were  standing  face  to  face,  reading  each  other, 
each  trying  to  gauge  the  strength  of  the  other. 

"  Well,"  said  La  Vette,  breaking  the  silence,  "  I 
presume  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  great  strike  or  a  lock 
out." 

Blair  nodded  coldly,  in  a  manner  to  shut  off  conver 
sation  in  that  direction.  The  unpleasant  impression 
that  La  Vette  made  was  growing  to  a  positive  repul 
sion. 

Heedlessly,  ignoring  Blair's  disapproval,  La  Vette 
went  on,  "  Things  will  come  to  a  focus  by  the  end  of 
next  week  at  the  latest,  I  presume.  I'm  frank  enough 
to  admit  that  I'm  awaiting  the  result  with  eager 
ness." 

"  Just  so,"  answered  Blair,  smiling  inwardly  at  La 
Vette's  feeble  effort  to  draw  him  out,  at  his  frankness 
which  circumspectly  admitted  nothing. 

Surrendering  his  thirst  for  knowledge  to  his  Gallic 
tact,  La  Vette  shifted  the  conversation;  but  the 
surrender  was  not  absolute,  for  his  curiosity  cropped 
out,  maugre  his  restraint.  "  I've  heard  Jan  Brod- 
ski  speak  of  you ;  he  told  me  you  used  to  live  with 
them,  and  Miss  Marvin  has  mentioned  you  several 
times." 

Blair  was  uncomfortable;  his  nerves  began  to  rasp. 
It  nettled  him  that  Evangeline  was  familiar  enough 
with  La  Vette  to  let  his  name  be  bandied  between  them. 
He  gave  a  monosyllabic  reply. 

Divining  his  discomfort,  the  chemist  hastened  to 
say,  "  You  needn't  mind  me,  anything  I  have  heard 
will  rest  safe  in  my  keeping." 


284  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  I  didn't  know  that  I  had  any  secret  to  keep," 
flashed  Blair  angrily. 

'  That's  just  as  you  want  it,  my  "dear  sir,"  and  La 
Vette  laid  a  familiar  hand  on  Blair's  sleeve. 

It  was  as  abhorrent  to  Blair  as  if  the  wet  body  of  a 
serpent  were  gliding  over  his  skin ;  brusquely  he  drew 
his  arm  away. 

Again  La  Vette  changed  the  conversation  with 
adept  diplomacy.  Little  by  little  he  advanced  into 
the  center  of  the  social  question,  stating  his  views 
cautiously  at  first,  with  the  assumed  impartiality  of  a 
statistician.  For  his  part,  he  disagreed  with  the  Social 
Settlement  movement.  Its  influence  was  too  small ;  to 
spread  esthetic  tastes  among  the  poor  without  be 
stowing  the  means  of  gratification  was  a  contradiction 
in  terms.  To  attempt  to  unite  the  two  ends  of  society 
while  the  present  inequality  existed  was  an  absurdity. 
It  provoked  instead  of  assuaging  jealousy.  "  I've 
told  Miss  Marvin  often,"  he  concluded,  "  that  she  is 
throwing  her  pebbles  in  the  sea.  She  can  confer  no 
lasting  benefit  on  people  out  here  until  their  general 
material  welfare  is  bettered." 

Blair  listened  with  an  avid  interest  to  La  Vette's  dis 
course  ;  but  the  chemist  soon  discovered  that  tug  as  he 
might  at  the  handle  he  could  draw  no  water  from 
the  pump.  Blair  was  on  his  guard  and  he  main 
tained  it. 

La  Vette  veered  and  tacked  suddenly.  "  Some  one 
told  me,  I  forget  who  it  was,  that  you  were  interested 
in  a  socialistic  body  out  here,  that  you  delivered  lec 
tures  before  it." 

"  Probably,"  replied  Blair  coolly,  looking  La  Vette 
straight  in  his  vitreous  eyes,  "  you  obtained  that  in 
formation  from  Miss  Goldstein." 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  285 

La  Vette  started,  the  top  of  his  bald  head  flushed 
red;  before  he  could  recover  his  self-possession,  Blair 
turned  on  his  heel  and  left. 

"  I  have  been  incautious  somewhere,"  said  La  Vette 
to  himself,  "  or  some  one  has  blabbed." 

Evangeline  passed  him,  and  he  remarked,  seizing 
an  unoccupied  moment,  "  I  have  just  had  a  talk  with 
your  friend  Mr.  Carrhart,  or  rather  I  did  the  talk 
ing  and  he  listened.  He  has  some  very  strange 
ideas.'' 

"  Oh,  very,"  answered  Evangeline,  blushing  de 
spite  herself,  "  but  you  will  come  to  like  him  much 
better  when  you  know  him." 

"  I  doubt  it,"  muttered  La  Vette  to  himself  as 
Evangeline  bounded  away  and  whisked  up  to  the  cor 
ner  where  Putnam  and  Martha  stood. 

Finding  an  excuse  to  withdraw,  Martha  crossed  over 
to  a  group  formed  by  Blair,  Mabel,  Ben  and  two  mill 
hands.  Impatiently  Martha  had  been  waiting  an  op 
portunity  to  converse  in  private  with  Evangeline;  but 
the  opportunity,  ever  tantalizingly  in  reach,  was  still 
as  far  off  as  in  the  beginning  of  the  evening  and  it 
was  fast  growing  late.  What  was  the  secret  of 
this  young  woman's  attraction  over  Blair?  If  she 
could  but  become  better  acquainted  with  her,  she 
might  be  able  to  give  surcease  to  this  torturing  ques 
tion. 

"  That's  a  very  strange  girl,"  whispered  Putnam  to 
Evangeline,  when  Martha  passed  just  out  of  ear 
shot. 

"Why?" 

"  I  can't  tell  you  why,  but  I  can't  make  her  out." 

Evangeline  smiled,  crestfallen.  "  Why,  everybody 
seems  strange  to  everybody  else  to-night.  Half  of  my 


286  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

friends  here  seem  at  war  with  the  other  half.  The 
fault  may  be  with  you,  Mr.  Putnam ;  she  may  have 
found  you  hard  to  understand." 

"  Perhaps ;  but  she  ought  not  to  have.  I  tried  my 
best  to  entertain  her." 

"  She  may  have  known  that  you  were  trying ;  that 
always  hurts  a  sensitive  girl." 

"  She's  interesting  though,"  spoke  Putnam.  "  I'll 
make  amends;  I'll  try  again." 

Evangeline  started  away,  and  Putnam  sidled  over  to 
Martha,  wishing  heartily  that  the  trying  and  tiring 
evening  were  over.  Ben  Judson,  seeing  his  chance, 
thrust  himself  on  Evangeline,  surprising  his  sisters 
once  more  by  his  unwonted  audacity. 

"  Do  you  intend  to  live  out  here?  "  he  began. 

"  Most  of  the  time,"  she  answered,  pleasantly. 

One  thing  led  to  another  and  the  conversation 
dragged  along  tediously  for  Evangeline,  who  found 
Ben's  standard  of  judgment  perfectly  commonplace 
and  bourgeois.  From  a  worldly  point  of  view,  within 
certain  restrictions,  Ben  was  a  masculine  edition  of 
Martha.  His  platitudes  on  wealth  and  poverty  lacked 
even  the  smallest  degree  of  noble  or  high-minded  con 
sideration  ;  if  he  were  a  representative  young  man  of 
the  people  Evangeline  felt  that  her  faith  in  the  people 
he  represented  must  waver. 

It  was  painfully  evident  that  she  could  hope  to  find 
neither  sympathy  nor  appreciation  from  this  young 
man.  She  had  found  hearty  indorsement  of  her  plans 
from  no  one  as  yet.  Half  of  the  visitors  there  to 
night  had  come,  she  knew,  through  an  interest  in  her 
and  not  in  her  aspirations ;  a  quarter  of  the  other  half 
through  idle  curiosity :  the  rest  were  either  avowedly 
skeptical,  like  La  Yette,  or  in  a  lukewarm,  non-com- 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  287 

mittal  state  of  mind,  awaiting  the  result  of  the  experi 
ment. 

There  was  Blair — surely  his  sympathy  would  be  lim 
ited  by  no  paltry  conditions ;  his  appreciation  would  be 
without  equivocation,  his  abetment  without  compro 
mise.  She  longed  to  speak  to  him.  Whai  nad  brought 
him  here?  How  had  he  found  out?  How  had  the 
months  changed  his  thoughts  ?  How  did  she  weigh 
in  the  balance  of  his  precious  love?  She  recalled  the 
first  look  he  bestowed  upon  her  when  he  had  entered, 
the  eloquent  pressure  of  his  hand,  and  a  smile  sped 
across  her  face  and  the  demure  expression  vanished. 
Martha  saw  that  smile  as  Evangeline's  beaming  coun 
tenance  turned  on  Blair  and  she  divined  what  in 
spired  it. 

Blair,  on  his  side,  fretted  and  fumed  from  the  dull 
dialogue  of  those  thrust  upon  him.  His  mind  was  ab 
sent,  his  spirit  was  harassed  by  the  sense  of  a  tanta 
lizing  void,  knowing  all  the  while  that  none  but 
Evangeline  could  fill  the  void  which  tantalized  him. 
Martha  studied  his  face  narrowly,  and  her  heart  sick 
ened  at  the  thought,  still  poignantly  present,  that  she 
was  nourishing  a  love  which  awoke  no  responsive 
chord  in  Blair's  being. 

It  was  growing  late ;  one  by  one  the  guests  departed. 
The  Judsons  started  to  go;  Blair  moved  towards  the 
hall  with  them. 

A  light  hand  was  laid  on  his  sleeve ;  his  nerves 
thrilled,  and  he  was  aware,  without  turning,  that  the 
touch  was  Evangeline's. 

"  Are  you  going  already  ?  "  asked  Evangeline. 

"  I  must  see  these  young  ladies  home,"  he  said  in 
extenuation. 

"  I  am  sorry,"  she  murmured  lightly,  with  that  old 


288  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

wistful  look  he  understood  so  well  and  interpreted  so 
easily. 

"  He  is  our  star  boarder,  you  know,"  volunteered 
Martha,  who  was  at  Blair's  right,  "  and  he  must  ac 
quit  himself  with  credit." 

Martha's  frank  gaze  met  Evangeline's,  Evangeline's 
met  Martha's ;  both  understood. 

"  But  Ben  can  take  us  home,"  Martha  made  haste 
to  add,  recovering  her  statue-like  equipoise,  her  calm 
self-possession. 

"  No,  I'll  go,"  insisted  Blair,  with  a  determination 
that  hurt  Evangeline  and  brought  back  the  old  doubt. 
"  It's  late  and  I  have  to  go  to  work  with  the  six  o'clock 
shift." 

It  was  Martha  whom  he  considered  at  that  moment 
and  not  his  own  consuming  desire  to  remain  with 
Evangeline ;  for  he  recognized  that  Martha's  sensitive 
nature  would  suffer  from  the  slighting  preference, 
from  the  humiliation  of  Evangeline's  unsought  tri 
umph. 

"  He  ought  to  have  stayed,"  thought  Evangeline 
sorrowfully,  after  Blair's  departure.  "  Perhaps  he  still 
remembers  how  I  .left  him  the  last  time  we  met.  He 
ought  not  to  punish  me  like  this." 

She  became  rueful ;  she  pondered  in  review  over 
every  word,  over  every  look  and  gesture  of  his  that  she 
had  seen  or  heard  that  night.  Every  trifle  took  on  a 
telling  worth ;  nothing  was  insignificant.  "  I  wonder 
if  he  can  care  for  that  young  lady  seriously,"  she 
sighed.  "  I  know,  I  could  feel  how  much  she  cared 
for  him.  He  is  so  peculiar ;  her  poverty  will  appeal 
to  him  against  my  wealth,  and  her  position  will  win 
his  sympathy,  I  am  sure."  And  later  when  her  as 
sistants  were  chattering  to  her  as  they  shut  the  win- 


EVANGELINE'S  EXPERIMENT  289 

dows  and  bolted  the  doors  for  the  night,  she  was 
still  lost  in  that  one  all-absorbing  thought;  indeed, 
all  her  life  seemed  wrapped  and  bound  within  it,  and 
she  said  to  herself,  not  even  hearing  the  voices  of  the 
others :  "  A  great  change  has  come  over  Blair ;  he 
doesn't  act  the  same  as  he  did.  He  is  in  love  with 
Miss  Judson." 
19 


XXVI 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END 

THE  Judsons  had  passed  several  blocks  on  the 
way  homeward  before  Martha,  who  guarded 
the  rear  with  Blair,  ventured  to  speak.     She 
was  brooding  darkly  and  Blair  conjectured,  in  a  dim 
and    misty    sort    of    way,    what    the    subject    of   her 
thoughts  was.     He  held  his  peace,  deeming  it  better 
not  to  anticipate.     His  mind  aberrated  to  Evangeline 
when   the  sound  of   his  name,   spoken   softly,   and  a 
touch  on  the  arm,  recalled  him  to  present  exigencies. 

"  Blair?  "  spoken  with  a  rising  inflection. 

"  Yes,  Martha." 

"  I'm  not  going  there  again." 

"Going  where?" 

44  To  Miss  Marvin's  Settlement." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Oh,  for  many  reasons." 

"  Of  which  the  chief  reason  is?  " 

"  Of  which  the  chief  reason  is  that  I  won't  be  pat 
ronized.     I  detest  it !  " 

"  Who  patronized  you,  Martha  ?  " 

"  No  one  in  particular,  yet  every  one  in  general.     It 
was  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  place." 

"  I  think  that  your  imagination  must  have  made  that 
atmosphere." 

290 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END  291 

"  Don't  believe  it !  I  am  not  ordinarily  combative ; 
I  don't  usually  approach  things  in  a  questioning  mood, 
with  a  chip  on  my  shoulder.  It  would  be  fairer  to  say 
that  the  atmosphere  made  my  mood.  Don't  you  think 
it  would  be  fairer  to  me  to  say  that  ?  " 

"  I  can't  say,  Martha.  It  all  depends  upon  the  frame 
of  mind  you  were  in,  and  if  I  could  put  myself  in  your 
place  I  might  be  able  to  tell  exactly.  Ordinarily, 
though,  I  think  you  are  just  what  you  have  denied — 
combative.  You  do  approach  things  with  a  chip  on 
your  shoulder.  You  are  so  determined  that  people 
shan't  patronize  you  that  you  are  ever  and  always  ap 
proaching  them  with  the  fear  that  they  will." 

"  You  always  say  that,  Blair,"  she  asseverated, 
drawing  her  shoulders  up,  throwing  her  chin  far  back, 
and  clasping  her  thumbs  with  her  fingers. 

"  I  never  said  so  before,  Martha." 

"  But  it  has  always  been  in  your  attitude." 

He  smiled.  "  There  you  have  it ;  the  chip  is  hoisted 
on  your  shoulder  and  you  are  insisting  that  I  knock- 
it  off.  But  I  won't.  I  refuse  absolutely." 

"  Gallant  man !  " 

"  Sarcastic  woman." 

"  You  are  in  anything  but  a  pleasant  mood, 
Blair." 

He  shook  his  head,  smiling  deprecatingly.  "  You  are 
reading  your  mood  into  mine,  Martha.  I  feel  pleas 
ant  enough.  Come,  be  cheerful." 

"  Be  cheerful,"  she  mocked,  with  rancor.  "  Why 
shouldn't  I  be  cheerful?  I  am  sure  that  I  have  every 
reason  to  be.  You  treated  me  with  such  deference  to 
night.  You  had  eyes  for  me  only,  ears  for  me  only. 
With  what  avidity  you  drank  in  every  word  I  said ! 
Your  mind  was  never  absent,  not  for  one  second.  You 


292  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

saw  no  one  else ;  you  heard  no  one  else.  Miss  Marvin 
might  as  well  have  been  out  of  the  room  as  far  as 
you  were  concerned.  I  am  sure  that  you  were  not 
even  aware  of  her  presence." 

"  Martha !  "  he  said  reproachfully. 

She  laughed  bitterly,  with  the  tang  of  desperation. 
"  I  do  so  love  that  reproaching  tone.  It's  so  generous, 
so  masculinely  generous,  to  put  the  blame  and  respon 
sibility  of  my  mood  on  me,  as  if  I  were  to  blame,  as 
if  you  had  not  thrust  it  upon  me." 

She  raised  her  voice ;  Mabel  turned  around  with  a 
jerk  of  her  head.  Martha  lowered  her  tones. 

"  Oh,  it  was  so  cruel  of  you,  Blair,  to  have  humbled 
me  in  front  of  her.  You  might  have  spared  me  that. 
I  cared  for  you  so  much ;  it  never  seemed  to  me  that  I 
could  love  anybody  so  much  as  I  did  you  to-night ! 
And  then —  '  she  broke  off  abruptly  as  if  a  ris 
ing  rain  of  tears  was  threatening  to  drown  her 
words. 

Blair  staggered  as  if  he  had  been  struck  full  in  the 
face. 

"  This  is  all  new  to  me,  Martha,"  he  declared  softly, 
pleadingly.  "  You  surely  can't  mean  what  you  say. 
It's  all  very  unjustified.  Humiliate  you!  Nothing 
was  farther  from  my  thoughts.  What  put  that  idea 
into  your  head  is  a  mystery  to  me.  I  scarcely  spoke 
one  word  to  Evangeline  all  evening.  I  was  at  your 
side  almost  every  minute  from  the  time  that  we 
entered  the  house  until  we  left  it." 

"  It  wasn't  what  you  said,  Blair ;  it  was  what  you 
thought,  and  I  know  perfectly  well  where  your 
thoughts  were." 

He  said  nothing,  remaining  quiet,  hurt  by  this  out 
burst  of  unreasonable  and  unreasoning  jealousy. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END 


293 


Silence  pained  her;  contradiction,  however  palpably 
untrue,  would  have  been  as  balm  to  her  wounded 
spirit ;  she  desired  to  be  convinced  against  her  own 
convictions.  Was  it  so  then?  He  did  not  even  take 
the  pain  to  deny  it.  Evidently  it  was  not  worth  his 
while. 

"  You  don't  even  deny  it !  "  she  challenged.  "  You 
can't.  You  don't  wish  to !  You  daren't !  " 

"  Hush,  Martha ;  you  are  forgetting  yourself.  The 
others  will  hear  us.  Mabel  just  turned  her  head." 

"  I  don't  care  for  that.  She  is  welcome  to  hear. 
You  weren't  so  careful  an  hour  ago  about  her  and  the 
others  seeing." 

"  This  would  be  ludicrous,  Martha ;  if  you  didn't 
take  it  so  seriously.  You  will  laugh  at  it  yourself  to 
morrow,  when  you  think  it  over." 

"  I  have  been  doing  nothing  else  but  laugh  at  myself, 
Blair,  ever  since  I  began  to  care  for  you.  And  the  pa 
thetic  part  of  it  is  that  the  laugh  hurts  me  more  than 
tears.  I  know  what  a  fool  I  have  been  through  it 
all." 

He  vouchsafed  no  answer,  dejected  and  sad.  Per 
haps  he  deserved  this  upbraiding;  at  any  rate  her 
words  cut  him  to  the  quick. 

"  And  the  worst  of  it  all  is,  Blair,"  she  went  on,  her 
voice  husky,  "  I  sometimes  feel — I  felt  it  to-night — 
that  you  are  laughing  at  me." 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  don't  say  that,  Martha,"  he 
groaned.  "  It's  the  last  thing  in  all  the  world  .of 
thoughts  that  ever  occurred  to  me." 

'  Then  you  pitied  me !  "  she  burst  out,  her  hands 
clenched  tightly,  her  breast  heaving  as  if  she  were 
gasping  for  breath. 

It  would  have  smacked  of  the  semi-ridiculous,  her 


294  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

insistence  upon  a  contradiction,  had  it  not  been  so 
intense. 

"  I  can't  talk  with  you  about  this  now,  Martha,"  he 
remarked  in  the  gentlest  of  tones,  "  you  are  not  your- 
self.  I  can  scarcely  realize  that  it  is  you  who  are  talk 
ing  to  me.  Let  the  matter  rest  for  to-night." 

Again  she  laughed,  derisively,  almost  sardonically. 
"  I  knew  that  would  come.  When  I  lay  my  heart  bare 
before  you,  when  I  tear  the  flesh  from  it  to  expose  it 
to  you,  then  I  am  not  myself,  I  am  another!  When  I 
conceal  myself,  hide  my  thoughts  from  you,  act  my 
part,  then,  I  suppose,  I  am  myself  and  not  another. 
Come,  let  me  act,  let  me  pretend  indifference,  cold 
ness,  that  may  meet  with  your  approval." 

He  touched  her  hand  soothingly,  her  palm  closed  on 
his  with  a  clutch  that  was  desperate  rather  than  af 
fectionate,  pleading  rather  than  loving.  "  Oh,  but  you 
ought  to  have  loved  me,"  she  moaned,  "  I  cared  for 
you  so  much." 

"  I  wish  that  I  could,  God  knows  I  wish  I  could," 
the  words  murmured  whisperingly  in  his  heart,  but  he 
said,  with  restraint,  "  I  do  care  for  you,  Martha,  a 
great  deal.  I  always  did  and  I  always  will." 

"I  would  rather  have  you  say  nothing  than  that; 
it's  like  spreading  freezing  hands  over  a  heap  of  ashes 
and  knowing  that  the  ashes  were  once  coals  that 
warmed  the  hands  of  another." 

He  made  no  comment;  to  pacify  her  was  beyond  his 
power,  every  word  angered  her  but  the  more,  seeming 
a  breeze  that  fanned  the  embers  of  her  regret  and 
made  them  blaze. 

"  I  deserve  it  all,  I  presume,"  she  said  quietly,  strug 
gling  to  regain  her  composure,  as  if  the  battle  had  been 
fought  and  lost  and  she  had  resolved  to  bear  defeat 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END  295 

philosophically ;  "  I  have  always  repented,  I  have  al 
ways  suffered  every  time  that  I  cared  for  any  one  not 
of  my  own  class.  I  have  no  right  to  look  beyond;  I 
should  stay  where  I  am,  at  home." 

"  Yon  are  reproaching  me  with  superciliousness, 
Martha,"  he  retorted  angrily. 

"  No,  you  have  never  been  that.  You  are  too  large 
a  man  for  so  small  a  fault,  Blair.  Superciliousness  is 
so  eminently  a  quality  of  the  little  mind  and  man ;  and 
you  are  anything  but  petty,  even  in  your  faults." 

"  If  not  that,  what  then"?  " 

"  I  can't  say  just  what  it  is,"  she  replied,  with  a 
vague  sadness  ;  "  it  isn't  what  I  felt  when  I  talked  to 
night  with  Mr.  Putnam — that  was  superciliousness; 
but  I  feel  a  difference  between  you  and  me — a  thou 
sand  little  things  tell  it  to  me  every  day,  and  yet  I 
can't  tell  what  the  difference  is.  It  is  there,  and  that's 
all  I  know." 

She  stopped  short,  as  if  pausing  to  gain  strength 
and  command ;  then  she  continued :  "  It  may  be  birth ; 
it  may  be  breeding;  but,  O  Blair,"  she  sobbed,  "I 
don't  believe  that  I  was  ever  meant  for  you  or  you  for 
me ;  and  that  knowledge,  my  helplessness,  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  bar  between  your  love  and  my  love,  not  of 
your  making  nor  of  my  making,  is  what  pains  and 
tortures  me  so.  If  the  fault  were  mine,  I  shouldn't 
give  way  to  bitterness,  I  know." 

They  were  nearing  home,  a  few  steps  up  the  block 
and  they  would  be  there ;  she  went  on  in  a  firm  manner, 
herself  well  in  hand,  under  the  perfect  control  of  a 
noble  self-restraint : 

"  I  wouldn't  say,  Blair,  that  you  ever  pointed  to  that 
bar  and  said,  '  Martha,  there's  what  divides  us.'  Quite 
to  the  contrary,  you  have  been  very  lovable  and  sweet 


296  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

about  that ;  for  if  wealth  and  education  have  given  you 
any  superiority,  you  have  always  taken  good  care  to 
hide  it.  And  that's  what  irks  and  hurts  me  most,  the 
fact  that  you  have  been  trying  to  hide  it  from  me. 
Oh,  I  know  I'm  peculiar  and  that  you  find  it  hard  to 
understand  me.  But  that's  just  the  way  it  is.  The 
more  you  hide  it,  the  more  it  seemed  to  bulge  out 
under  the  cover  you  put  over  it.  I  knew  long  ago  that 
it  was  all  useless.  Forgive  me,  Blair,  for  speaking  as 
I  did  to-night.  You  were  quite  right ;  I  have  not 
been  myself." 

He  took  her  hand  and  held  it  affectionately.  She 
withdrew  it  suddenly;  her  breast  heaved  and  fell, 
something  like  a  tear  curtained  the  brilliancy  of  her 
large  black  eyes.  She  turned  and  walked  proudly  up 
the  stairs. 

Blair  had  scarcely  reached  his  room,  when  a  slight 
rap  at  the  door  aroused  him  from  the  depths  of  a  rev 
erie  tinged  with  melancholy.  He  knew  it  must  be 
Martha. 

"  I  came  to  say  good-night,  Blair ;  I  did  not  mean 
to  leave  you  so — so  abruptly." 

There  was  an  eternal  good-by  to  her  love  in  her 
good-night ;  he  perceived  it  clearly. 

"  Good-night,  Martha,"  he  said  softly,  slowly,  lin 
gering  over  the  words,  as  if  regretting  that  they  must 
be  dismissed  with  a  despatch  all  out  of  proportion  to 
their  deep  meaning  and  vital  import. 

She  bent  over  slowly,  drawing  her  fine  head  up  to 
his  chin.  He  was  leaning  over  her.  She  moved  nearer 
him,  their  lips  met  for  the  first  time  and  the  last.  It 
was  a  kiss  that  lacked  all  passion,  the  finger  of  a 
dead  love  pressing  numb  and  cold  between  their 
lips. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END 


297 


"  Good-night,  Blair,"  she  said  again,  as  she  moved 
down  the  hall,  her  voice  sounding  like  a  sighing  echo 
through  a  dank  building-,  long  deserted. 

"  Good-night,  Martha,"  he  answered  as  he  stood  in 
the  doorway,  like  a  giant  contracted  to  fit  in  the  nar 
row  frame,  and  watched  her  pass  to  her  room. 


XXVII 
ON  THE  EVE 

THE  committees  from  the  various  lodges  had  de 
cided  to  submit  to  the  will  of  a  mass-meeting 
whether  or  not  they  should  be  vested  with  the 
power  to  shut  down  the  departments  still  running,  to 
call  all  mechanics,  whether  union  or  non-union,  from 
work,  and  to  demand  of  the  day  laborers,  most  of 
whom  were  foreigners,  to  join  issue  with  them.  The 
mass-meeting,  after  several  days  of  deliberation,  was 
called ;  the  motions  of  the  joint  committees  were  car 
ried  unanimously  and  the  partial  lock-out  was  turned 
into  a  general  strike. 

The  machinery  of  the  strike  was  at  once  put  into 
action.  An  Advisory  Committee  was  formed,  with  full 
and  unlimited  power  to  direct  the  campaign  of  labor 
against  capital :  Blair,  Ben  Judson,  Winslow,  Bach, 
McNaughton,  Blair's  old  friend  in  the  open-hearth, 
and  Michael  Brodski,  who  was  to  act  as  interpreter 
to  the  vast  foreign  element,  and  five  others  composed 
its  members.  Blair  was  chosen  chairman ;  his  respon 
sibility  was  grave,  his  power  all  but  supreme. 

The  policy  of  the  Company  was  anticipated  by  the 
leaders ;  they  foresaw  clearly  that  it  was  Marvin's  in 
tention  to  shut  down  one  department  after  the  other 
as  quickly  as  he  could  install  and  train  "  scab  "  and 

298 


ON  THE  EVE  299 

non-union  labor  to  take  the  places  of  the  old  employ 
ees.  It  was  declared,  and  the  declaration  was  any 
thing  but  baseless,  that  the  Company's  agents  every 
where  throughout  the  large  cities  of  the  Union  had 
been  putting  forth  vigorous  efforts  to  gather  from  six 
to  eight  hundred  non-union  men  to  start  up  the  plate- 
mill  and  the  open-hearth  furnaces,  and  that  the  new 
forces  were  soon  to  concentrate  in  Chicago  and  move 
to  Marvin  under  the  protection  of  a  host  of  Pinkerton 
detectives. 

The  excitement  which  the  rumor,  growing  with  in 
creasing  strength,  aroused  was  terrific.  Years  have 
associated  the  name  of  Pinkertons  with  criminals  and 
refugees  from  the  law,  and  labor  rebelled  at  the  wrench 
ing  of  the  association  to  include  itself.  The  name  was 
odious,  its  suggestions  hateful. 

Men  were  at  once  appointed  to  guard  the  depots 
and  picket  every  approach  to  the  mills.  The  patrol 
was  instructed  to  cover  its  beat  night  and  day,  and  to 
warn  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  first  appearance 
of  either  Pinkerton  men  or  "  scabs."  The  greatest 
and  freest  avenue  of  entrance  to  the  mills  was  still  left 
unguarded  ;  there  were  no  barriers  to  prevent  the  Pink 
ertons  and  their  charges  from  coming  down  Lake 
Michigan  by  boat  and  swooping  down  on  the  mills. 
Blair  had  this  in  mind ;  his  map  of  the  mills  came  in 
good  stead,  and  he  suggested  that  they  hire  a  tug  to 
ply  up  and  down  near  the  portion  of  the  lake  shore  oc 
cupied  by  the  mills  and  to  warn  them  by  whistle  of  the 
movement  of  all  suspicious  crafts.  His  suggestion  was 
carried. 

Measures  were  rapidly  assuming  a  warlike  look, 
and  the  grim  visage  of  battle  loomed  down  upon  the 
town  of  Marvin  and  the  mills  awfully.  Battle  was 


ooo  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

<J 

scented;  those  on  vengeance  bent  were  becoming  satis 
fied. 

At  night  the  long  line  of  saloons  was  crowded.  The 
Dumb-Bell  did  a  prosperous  business,  and  the  men, 
letting  excitement  run  away  with  their  judgment, 
spent  money  freely.  Whisky  displaced  beer.  Blatant 
oratory  competed  with  intoxicated  speech  for  listeners. 
Throngs  gathered  around  the  gates  and  fences  of 
the  deserted  mill,  to  be  dispersed — only  to  collect 
again — by  the  police  and  the  handful  of  watchmen, 
who  refused  to  "  go  out "  on  the  summons  from 
the  strikers. 

Blair  was  everywhere,  in  the  streets,  the  saloons,  the 
houses,  mingling  with  the  crowds,  cautioning  and  beg 
ging  order  and  restraint.  His  presence  prevented  an 
open  riot.  Time  and  time  again  his  path  crossed 
Sophia  Goldstein's,  and  there  were  always  in  her  blaz 
ing  eyes  the  challenge  and  the  threat. 

A  crowd,  composed  mostly  of  street  and  mill  boys, 
with  Thomas  Brodski  as  ringleader,  hanged  an  effigy 
of  Marvin  to  one  of  the  telegraph  poles  along  the 
street  that  fronted  the  plant.  It  remained  swinging 
there  until  the  morning — a  dreadful  enough  por 
tent — heralding  what  the  most  vicious  desired  in  all 
actuality. 

It  was  pointed  out  to  Marvin  in  the  morning,  but 
he  laughed  scornfully,  flushing  with  anger  rather  than 
fear.  "  I'll  pay  them  back  for  that,"  he  swore;  "  I'll 
get  even  with  them  for  that  trick,"  and  he  ordered  the 
thing  cut  down. 

Meanwhile  Marvin  was  not  idle.  He  moved  with 
apparent  leisure  and  calmness,  but  he  moved.  He  had 
already  warned  the  sheriff  of  the  county  of  the  firm 
intention  of  the  Company  to  guard  its  property  with 


ON  THE  EVE  301 

three  hundred  Pinkerton  men,  and  he  demanded  their 
deputization. 

The  sheriff  hesitated.  He  had  political  aspirations, 
and  the  road  to  honor  and  lucre  would  not  be  made 
royal  by  the  implacable  antagony  of  over  five  thousand 
laborers  and  the  influence  they  could  wield.  He  con 
sulted  his  attorney,  and,  as  a  result  of  the  advice,  he 
refused  to  deputize  the  Pinkertons  until  they  were  in 
side  of  the  Company's  property;  and  when  that  time 
came  he  would  act  as  he  thought  circumstances  war 
ranted. 

On  the  last  of  June  days  the  Company  grew  more 
and  more  fearful  of  the  restlessness  of  the  strikers,  of 
the  frequent  attempts  of  small  detachments  from  large 
mobs  to  break  inside  of  the  mills,  at  the  assault  on  its 
watchmen;  and  a  formal  application  was  made  to  the 
sheriff  for  the  services  of  two  hundred  of  the  county's 
deputies. 

Evasiveness  is  the  golden  mean  between  refusal  and 
compliance ;  it  is  the  legal  tender  with  which  politicians 
pay  promises.  The  sheriff  held  counsel  with  his  attor 
ney  again ;  then  he  came  to  the  seat  of  the  trouble  with 
his  posse  of  twelve  men,  merely  to  look  over  the  ground 
and  satisfy  himself  if  the  demand  of  the  Company 
were  justified. 

The  Advisory  Committee,  who  were  informed  by 
the  sheriff  of  his  purpose,  met  him  and  his  posse  at 
the  depot  and  escorted  them  to  the  mill.  The  sheriff 
declared  that,  in  so  far  as  he  could  see,  the  Company's 
property  was  not  being-  molested. 

Already  the  news  of  the  visit  of  the  county  official 
was  bruited  abroad ;  from  all  directions  the  crowds 
swarmed  around  the  mill  gates.  The  foreign  quar 
ters  were  deserted.  Hungarians,  Poles,  Bohemians, 


-02  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

w/ 

Lithuanians,  Croatians  poured  through  the  streets. 
They  seemed  to  pop  out  of  the  ground  like  the  grass 
in  the  spring.  Mrs.  Brodski  came  dragging  Anna 
and  Mary  by  their  short  arms ;  even  Wanda  was 
aroused  from  her  sullen  lethargy,  carried  thither  by 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion. 

It  was  a  cosmopolitan  army  nationalized  by  a  single 
purpose — blind  destruction  of  something,  anything ; 
the  quick  wreaking  of  a  b'.Ind  wrath.  Squat  women, 
disheveled,  dressed  in  frayed  and  dirty  calico,  their 
dull,  heavy  features  lit  with  vivifying  rage  and  made 
attractive  for  the  nonce,  spoke  in  polyglot  monosylla 
bles  to  urge  on  the  men.  Barefooted  boys,  towards 
mischief  inclined,  led  on  by  Thomas  Brodski,  swelled 
the  overflowing  crowd. 

Stones,  bricks,  slag  picked  up  from  the  roadside, 
gnarled  sticks,  pieces  of  kindling  wood  grabbed  in 
haste  and  on  the  run,  were  swung  ominously,  restless 
ly  as  if  tormented  by  the  lack  of  a  mark  whereat  to 
strike  and  fling. 

A  few  watchmen  came  out  of  the  mill  gate  for  a 
second,  but  they  shrank  back  inside  of  the  mills  quick 
ly,  finding  excuse  for  occupation  elsewhere,  resolving, 
when  opportunity  offered,  to  join  the  strikers  rather 
than  be  disjointed  by  them.  La  Yette,  at  work  on  an 
unfinished  experiment  in  the  laboratory,  glanced  down 
on  the  crowd  from  time  to  time,  and  went  on  with  his 
task,  whistling  an  almost  inaudible  Marseillaise,  inter 
spersed  with  the  mocking  notes  from  humorous 
ditties. 

The  sheriff  and  his  henchmen  emerged  from  the 
offices,  followed  by  the  committee,  who  were  as  nerv 
ous  as  their  charges.  Blair  commanded  the  crowd 
to  disperse,  sounding  his  clarion  voice  with  full  stress, 


ON  THE  EVE 


3°3 


exhortingly.  They  obeyed  unwillingly,  snapping  and 
snarling,  still  fondling  their  missiles. 

"  Pinkertons !  "  yelled  some  one  with  a  foreign 
accent.  The  cry  was  like  the  lighting  of  a  fuse  of  a 
bomb. 

Blair  heard  the  shout  in  the  nick  of  time  and  saw 
the  shouter  with  even  greater  timeliness.  He  pushed 
and  fought  his  way  through  the  human  thicket.  He 
stood  face  to  face  with  the  agitator.  It  was  his  arch 
enemy  Vorlinski !  In  Blair's  heart  there  were  the 
shock  of  surprise  and  a  second  of  hesitation,  in  his 
mind  and  body  there  was  no  hesitation  at  all.  "  Where 
had  the  man  come  from?  What  had  brought  him 
back?  flashed  the  questions  through  Blair's  brain  as 
he  caught  him  by  the  throat  and  shouted :  "  You  lie ! 
You  lie!  They  are  not  Pinkertons." 

The  multitude  massed  and  jammed  around  the  two. 
Blair's  decisive  action  won  their  admiration  again.  At 
a  word  from  the  master  they  would  have  rent  the  Pole 
to  pieces.  It  would  have  been  a  diversion,  an  outlet 
for  ebullient  spirits.  He  shook  the  Pole  from  him ; 
held  the  throng  at  bay  and  hastened  up  to  his  party, 
which  had  made  a  rapid  retreat  during  the  inci 
dent.  The  fuse  was  extinguished  at  the  proper  mo 
ment,  another  second  and  the  bomb  would  have 
exploded. 

The  sheriff,  on  the  road  to  the  depot,  dropped  the 
hint  gently  that  the  Company  would  have  the  legitimate 
right  to  bring  what  men  it  chose  within  the  mills.  This 
indirection  satisfied  his  mind ;  he  had  done  his  duty. 
On  the  train  he  breathed  easier. 

"  It's  a  tight  box,"  said  the  chief  official  to  his  under 
lings. 

"  Yes,"  answered  an  acolyte,  barely  recovered  from 


304  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

his  fright, — "  and  it  looks  as  if  it's  going  to  keep  on 
getting  tighter." 

"  We  just  slipped  out  in  time,"  remarked  another, 
"  the  cover  almost  shut  down  and  the  sides  were  mov 
ing  together." 

The  train  had  barely  pulled  out  of  sight  of  the  town 
when  Henry  Marvin,  who  had  been  delayed  by  urgent 
business  in  the  city,  whirled  through  the  muddy 
streets  in  his  carriage.  Penton  and  Hamilton  sat  be 
side  him,  with  a  look  of  disgust  on  their  stupid  faces. 

Angry  looks,  taunts,  jeers  greeted  the  progress  of 
the  luxurious  vehicle  and  its  occupants.  Sibilant 
curses  in  foreign  tongues  hissed  their  way  across  the 
street  and  from  house  to  house.  If  Marvin  could  have 
understood,  if  he  had  been  able  to  translate,  his  blood 
might  have  curdled ;  as  it  was  he  sat  bolt  upright,  his 
face  sternly  set,  his  brows  wrinkled  into  a  determined 
V.  Shutters  were  opened,  heads  peeped  forth,  fists 
were  clenched  and  shaken.  The  street  was  a-babble  with 
a  downfall  of  screeching  oaths.  The  finely  appointed 
carriage,  the  expensive  trappings,  the  uniformed 
coachman,  the  blooded  horses — these  insignia  of  af 
fluence — were  like  so  many  insulting  challenges  thrown 
boldly' in  their  faces.  It  was  the  dare  defiant !  Armed 
militia,  much  as  those  foreigners  hated  the  sight  of 
uniforms  and  what  they  symbolized,  would  have  awak 
ened  less  resentment.  Yet,  although  the  sight  pro 
voked  and  excited,  the  flaunting  of  superiority  and 
wealth  made  an  imposing  impression.  The  force  of 
surprise,  of  boldness,  daunted — otherwise  it  might 
have  gone  ill  with  the  carriage  and  the  Marvins. 

The  heavy  harness  clanked  and  clinked;  the  horses 
pawed,  pulling  at  the  restraining  bits ;  the  whip 
snapped  smartly;  the  carriage  whirled  along.  There 


ON  THE  EVE  305 

went  the  old ,  the  cause  of  all  their  trouble,  their 

poverty  and  their  irksome  want !  The  vampire  that 
was  fattening  on  their  blood !  Cursed  be  he  and  his 
unto  all  their  generations ! 

Men  came  out  of  the  saloons,  attracted  by  the  pecul 
iar  character  of  the  noise,  and  standing  on  the  raised 
platforms,  with  arms  crossed  and  faces  darkling,  they 
muttered  irately  as  the  carriage  rolled  on. 

"  There  goes  bread  and  butter  for  all  of  us  for 
years !  "  growled  one. 

"  Fools,  you,  not  to  take  it,  then,"  scowled  Jan 
Brodski,  tugging  at  his  red  beard. 

"  Wait,"  exclaimed  another,  "  our  time  will  come." 

The  carriage  turned  on  C  street.  Mrs.  Brodski  was 
crossing  the  road,  her  arms  laden  with  wood,  her  form 
bent  trudgingly  through  the  mire,  when  the  wheels 
spattered  through  the  stagnant  puddles. 

"  Look  out !  "  bawled  the  coachman ;  she  was  barely 
in  time  to  evade  the  hoofs  of  the  horse  at  her  right. 
She  threw  her  wood  in  the  gutter,  rubbed  the  tip  of 
her  flat  nose  with  her  hand  and  screeched :  "  Ah,  you ; 
that's  right ;  kill  my  son-in-law  first  and  now  run  me 
down."  Her  cheeks  puffed ;  she  drew  breath  and  spat 
out.  The  saliva  fell  short  of  its  aim,  missing  Mar 
vin's  face. 

Mrs.  Brodski's  boldness  animated  the  others ;  the 
startling  impression  of  superiority  was  rapidly  being 
lost.  It  needed  little  to  start  violence  on  a  heedless 
course.  Shrieks  were  growing  wilder  and  more  fre 
quent. 

Marvin  had  been  warned;  he  had  been  importuned 
not  to  put  foot  within  the  purlieus  of  his  own  town 
unless  he  was  attended  by  detectives ;  above  every 
thing  else  the  warning  and  the  importunity  extended 
20 


306  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

to  the  use  of  his  carriage.  He  chose  to  disregard  the 
admonition ;  he  would  come  and  go  as  he  chose,  in 
the  manner  that  suited  his  mood  of  the  moment 
best. 

He  flushed  purple  at  the  termagant's  vile  act ;  he 
would  have  jumped  from  his  carriage  and  have  struck 
had  a  man  committted  the  outrage.  Age  had  not 
withered  his  courage. 

The  twins  blanched  and  trembled.  They  foreboded 
unspeakable  terrors.  The  maledictions,  the  jeers, 
the  shaking  fists,  had  made  their  weak  hearts  faint. 

"  The  old  man's  crazy,"  whispered  Penton  under 
his  breath.  "What  did  he  make  us  come  along  for? 
I've  a  mind  to  jump  and  cut." 

"  Not  me,"  whimpered  Hamilton  in  reply;  "  I'll  stay 
where  1  am,  but  you  don't  see  me  out  this  way  any 
more.  We  might  as  well  stay  here  and  get  trounced 
as  cut  and  get  trounced  at  home.  Our  chances  are 
better  here." 

"  I  guess  that's  right,"  murmured  Penton. 

"  W'hat  are  you  fellows  whispering  there?  "  snapped 
Marvin.  "  Are  you  afraid  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Penton. 

"  Not  me,"  echoed  Hamilton. 

!<  Your  looks  belie  it,"  scorned  the  father,  rage  at 
their  cowardice  chafing  him.  "  I've  a  mind  to  throw 
you  both  out  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck  and  make  you 
walk." 

The  carriage  turned ;  the  entrance  to  the  mills  was 
in  sight.  Blair  chanced  to  be  standing  on  the  corner 
and  he  saw  the  vehicle  as  it  veered.  A  part  of  the 
crowd  that  had  threatened  the  sheriff  was  still  con 
glomerated  about  the  entrance. 

"  We'd  better  go  up  there,"  he  said  to  Winslow  and 


ON  THE  EVE  307 

Ben  Judson,  who  were  talking  with  him,  "  I  fear  there 
may  be  trouble." 

"  He  ought  to  stand  it,''  said  Ben.  "  If  I  wave  a  red 
rag  before  a  bull  I  have  sense  enough  to  know  that  the 
bull  will  use  its  horns  if  it  gets  a  chance." 

"  Well,  we'll  go  anyway,"  said  Winslow. 

The  trio  moved  on.  The  carriage  drew  to  a  halt 
a  few  paces  away  from  the  gate.  The  crowd  flocked 
towards  it.  They  had  been  balked  of  their  prey  once 
that  morning ;  they  were  restless ;  they  were  idle ;  agi 
tators  had  been  egging  them  on.  Impatience  stood  on 
tiptoe. 

Marvin  alighted,  erect,  impassive  as  a  soldier;  the 
twins  shuffled  behind  him  in  dread.  Thomas  Brodski, 
ever  on  the  lookout  for  deviltry  of  one  kind  or  an 
other,  tripped  Penton  by  the  heels ;  he  fell  prone. 
Hamilton  screamed  in  terror.  A  loud  guffaw  burst 
from  the  files  of  the  strikers.  Marvin  faced  them, 
planting  his  back  against  the  fence  squarely. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  he  roared.  "  I  warn  you, 
you  are  making  serious  trouble  for  yourselves.  There's 
some  law  left  in  this  land;  let  me  and  my  sons  pass. 
Do  you  hear !  " 

They  edged  back  a  few  inches,  held  in  check  perhaps 
by  a  sudden  gust  of  fear,  perhaps  by  his  age  and  aris 
tocratic  appearance,  perhaps  by  the  badge  of  his  au 
thority.  Only  the  women  in  the  mob  stood  fheir  ground 
recklessly,  screaming  like  the  furies  they  were,  show 
ering  down  invectives,  calling  the  men  to  avenge 
themselves  on  the  maker  of  all  their  trouble.  Penton 
was  on  his  feet  again ;  Hamilton  crouched  at  his 
father's  side ;  both  too  frightened  to  give  vent  to  the 
tears  that  were  scalding  their  ducts.  Not  one  nerve 
in  Marvin's  body  twitched. 


308  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Without  warning,  a  shower  of  mud  clods  burst 
from  the  rear  rank  of  the  malcontents.  It  fell  about 
the  fence,  spattered  the  crowd,  and  one  large  lump 
TOOK  Hamilton  full  in  the  face.  His  knees  knocked,  he 
hardly  was  able  to  maintain  his  balance.  His  pitiful 
fright,  his  besmudged  appearance,  amused  the  evil 
doers  and  encouraged  them  to  another  effort. 

Blair  fought  his  way  to  the  imprisoned  ones,  swing 
ing  his  arms  like  two  hammers  to  the  right  and  left. 

"  You  can  go  on  now,"  he  said,  making  way. 

"  It's  a  pretty  army,"  answered  Marvin,  recognizing 
his  rescuer,  "  a  brave  army  you  have !  One  shot-gun 
will  scatter  the  whole  of  them  like  geese." 

"  You  can  go  in  now,"  repeated  Blair  quietly,  keep 
ing  the  path  open. 

"  I'm  obliged  to  you  for  the  permission  to  enter  my 
own  property,"  he  replied. 

As  Marvin  moved  up  the  stairs  to  his  office,  he  said 
to  himself :  "  That  man  ought  to  be  in  my  office, 
instead  of  leading  a  pack  of  hoodlums.  He  has  brain 
enough  to  command  a  salary.  I  would  like  to  know 
what  his  price  is.  No,"  the  answer  to  his  own  ques 
tion  thundered  in  his  mind,  "  I'll  burn  the  mills  first." 

The  Company,  he  resolved,  had  millions  for  battle, 
not  one  cent  wherewith  to  purchase  peace. 


XXVIII 
THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING 

CONCLUDING  that  his  presence  in  the  house 
would  be  painful  to  Martha,  Blair  left  the 
Judsons',  and  went  to  room  with  Bach,  who 
lived  a  few  blocks  away  on  N  street. 

The  Judson  family,  Martha  excepted,  was  puzzled 
and  grieved  at  Blair'b  sudden  announcement  of  his  de 
termination  to  change  abodes. 

"  He's  a  peculiar  chap,"  said  Winslow,  shaking  his 
head,  on  hearing  the  news. 

"Peculiar!"  ejaculated  Judson,  who  had  just  told 
him ;  "  I  should  say  he  was.  Still  I  liked  the  man. 
His  ways  were  fine.  The  world  takes  to  big  chaps 
like  him  somehow,  just  as  if  they  were  made  big  on 
purpose  to  be  liked.  Yes,  sir,  I  liked  that  man  and  I 
was  sorry  to  see  him  go." 

There  was  a  general  shake  of  Judson  heads  to  nod 
assent  with  the  utterance  of  the  chief  of  the  family. 
Martha  remained  silent. 

"  I  like  him  too  for  the  matter  of  that,"  agreed 
Winslow :  "  he's  quick  to  learn,  smart  as  chained  light 
ning  ;  he's  full  of  pluck  and  grit,  and  he's  square  right 
straight  through  from  head  to  foot." 

But  none  the  less,  at  the  bottom  of  the  valiant  Eng 
lishman's  heart,  he  rejoiced  that  Blair  had  changed 
his  quarters;  for  Winslow's  suit  for  Martha's  hand  was 

3°9 


3io  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

progressing  better  since  Blair's  absence.  Martha  even 
encouraged  his  advances  now,  whereas  before  she  had 
ignored  them  persistently.  When  he  had  introduced 
Blair  to  the  Judsons,  WinsJow  did  not  surmise  that 
he  was  allowing  a  formidable  enemy  to  enter,  without 
challenge,  into  the  province  of  his  love. 

He  was  even  more  friendly  to  Blair  than  ever. 
Perhaps,  reasoned  Winslow,  Blair  had  helped  his  cause 
with  Martha  and  quitted  the  house  that  he  might  leave 
a  clear  field  for  him.  The  abruptness  of  Blair's  de 
parture  was  the  one  thing  that  astonished  \Yinslow ; 
but  the  reason  for  this  he  was  destined  never  to  learn. 

A  few  evenings  after  his  ties  with  Martha  were 
broken,  and  just  a  day  before  he  had  rescued  Henry 
Marvin  from  the  mob's  attack,  Blair  put  in  his  appear 
ance  at  the  Settlement,  with  the  same  suddenness  that 
marked  his  disappearance  from  the  Judsons. 

When  Blair  entered,  the  house  was  not  nearly  so 
well  favored  with  visitors  as  on  the  evening  of  its  in 
auguration  ;  the  Settlement,  for  one  thing,  could  not 
compete  with  the  strike  in  either  intensity  or  interest ; 
and,  for  another,  when  it  was  bruited  abroad  that 
Evangeline  was  the  daughter  of  the  President,  the 
whole  affair  was  regarded  with  suspicion. 

A  few  of  the  bolder  and  more  curious  foreigners 
came,  despite  all  protests  and  their  own  misgivings, 
and  they  stood  around  bashful  and  awkward,  lest  a 
phrase  of  broken  English  evoke  laughter  on  the  part 
of  those  to  whom  the  language  belonged  as  a  mother 
tongue.  They  clustered  around  Blair,  extending  their 
hands,  one  by  one,  glad  to  do  reverence  to  the  man 
whom  they  adored,  proud,  in  turn,  to  be  recognized  by 
him.  He  made  them  all  feel  at  ease  at  once ;  his  pres 
ence  was  sufficient  guarantee  that  the  purposes  of  the 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  31 1 

institution  were  proclaimed  in  good  faith  and  that  rid 
icule  was  not  one  of  them. 

A  strong  hand  grasped  the  stout  muscle  of  Blair's 
right  arm.  He  turned. 

"  Hello,  Paul,"  he  cried,  glad  to  see  him,  shaking 
hands  with  the  well-knit,  handsome,  blond-haired  Pole. 

"  Glad  to  see  you  again,  Mr.  Carrhart,  very,"  said 
Paul  in  good  English. 

"  You're  shooting  up  like  a  weed,"  continued  Blair, 
"  you  are  an  inch  larger  every  time  I  see  you.  What 
became  of  you,  anyway  ?  I  missed  you  in  the  rail- 
mill." 

"  I  left  there.  They  put  me  to  work  on  the  charg- 
ing-floor  of  the  cupola-furnace." 

"  Did  you  like  it  any  better?  " 

Paul  shook  his  head.  "  Not  much !  It's  a  terrible 
place  when  the  wind's  wrong.  Almost  choked  to 
death  up  there." 

Blair's  mind  wandered.  What  did  Paul's  visit  por 
tend?  What  had  brought  him  hither?  Was  he  still 
actively  engaged  with  the  anarchistic  corps?  He  re 
called  La  Vette's  visit  of  a  few  evenings  previous. 
This  was  the  second  bird  that  had  flown  to  the  Settle 
ment  from  that  foul  nest.  Were  they  sent  as  spies  ? 
Was  harm  intended  to  Evangeline?  Blair  shuddered. 

"  Jan  is  working  on  the  charging-floor  of  the  blast 
furnace,  isn't  he  ? "  asked  Blair,  with  an  irrelevant 
break  into  Paul's  conversation. 

"  Yes.  His  job  is  almost  like  mine.  That's  right, 
isn't  it,  two  brothers  to  do  the  same  work  ?  " 

Blair  nodded,  his  thoughts  recurring  to  the  theme 
that  troubled  them.  "  And  Wanda  ?  "  he  asked,  arous 
ing  himself. 

"  I  see  you  remember  us  all,  Mr.  Carrhart,"  replied 


3i2  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

Paul,  far  from  displeased  at  the  attention.  "  Wanda 
is  not  the  same  girl  as  when  you  knew  her — since 
Ignatz — you  remember  him  too? — was  killed  in  the 
steel-mill.  She  don't  go  out  much.  We're  afraid 
sometimes"  (Paul  tapped  his  forehead  significantly)  ; 
"  but  the  doctor  says  she  will  be  all  right  in  time." 

Blair  shook  his  head  sadly.  He  remembered  the 
accident  vividly.  "  Has  Michael  married  Irma  Lud- 
vig  yet  ?  "  he  asked,  after  a  bit. 

"  No,  not  yet,"  answered  Paul ;  "  but  he  would  to 
morrow  if  times  were  good." 

They  progressed  to  a  discussion  of  the  strike,  of  the 
probable  length  of  its  duration,  the  next  move  the 
Company  would  make,  what  the  men  would  do  to  out 
wit  it.  Was  a  pitched  battle,  was  bloodshed  likely? 

Paul's  eyes  lit  with  that  strong  light  of  dreams,  so 
peculiar  to  the  Brodski  clan ;  but  his  voice,  as  he  spoke, 
was  calm,  and  nothing  that  he  said  and  nothing  that  he 
asked  gave  Blair  the  slightest  clue  to  his  social  the 
ories. 

Evangeline  came  down  the  stairs  and  entered  the 
parlor.  Her  hopeful  look  was  gone ;  she  was  discour 
aged  by  the  change  of  fortune  which  a  few  days  had 
wrought  in  her  enterprise. 

She  extended  her  hand  to  Blair,  remarking,  "  You 
seem  to  know  everybody  out  here,  Blair;  and  every 
body  seems  to  know  you." 

"  Yes,  I  have  learned  to  know  quite  a  number,  one 
way  and  another,  since  I  have  been  out  here." 

He  introduced  her  to  Paul  Brodski  with,  "  He's  an 
old  friend  of  mine — the  first  acquaintance  I  made  in 
the  mills,  in  fact." 

Evangeline  chatted  a  second  or  two  with  Paul  and 
then  slipped  away,  sylph-like. 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  313 

"  Is  that  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Marvin,  the  presi 
dent  ?"  asked  Paul. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Blair,  eying  Paul  narrowly, 
"  and  a  fine  girl,  too.  She  likes  poor  people  like  you 
and  me.  She  wishes  to  devote  her  life  to  helping 
them." 

Paul's  face  grew  solemn.  Later,  when  he  caught 
Blair's  sympathetic  and  loving  glances  following 
Evangeline's  airy  movements,  Paul  thought  he  under 
stood. 

Shortly  after  ten  the  visitors  departed;  the  Settle 
ment  people  retired.  Blair  and  Evangeline  were  left 
alone. 

"  Let's  go  out,  Van,"  said  he,  pacing  up  and  down 
the  narrow  parlor.  "  I've  been  cooped  up  with  com 
mittees  all  day  and  I'm  so  restless  that  I  can't  sit  or 
stand  still." 

"  It's  rather  late  for  a  walk,  isn't  it,  Blair?  " 

"  But  I  can't  sit  here  another  minute ;  it's  out  of 
question,"  and  his  towering  frame  paced  back  and 
forth. 

She  left  the  room  in  that  quick,  round  motion  pe 
culiar  to  her  and  came  back  with  her  hat.  They  passed 
out  into  the  uninviting  street.  Her  slender  arm  rested 
in  his  large  protective  one. 

"  It's  almost  like  the  old  days,  Blair,  at  the  univer 
sity,  when  we  used  to  slip  out  and  stroll  among  the 
hills,  along  the  river." 

"  Yes,  except  the  place  is  hardly  suggestive  of  a 
river  and  hills." 

"  It's  an  awfully  ugly  place." 

"  No  place  could  be  more  so.  It's  the  ugliest,  the 
most  repellent  town  on  earth  I  verily  believe,  and  yet 
we  aren't  in  the  ugliest  part  either." 


3'4 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


"  Let's  walk  towards  the  lake  to  the  mills,  Blair." 

"  No,  I'm  sick  of  the  mills.  I  wish  to  get  away 
from  them  to-night.  \Ye  can  keep  straight  on  this 
road  for  a  mile  or  two  and  that  will  bring  us  to  the 
ship-yards.  There's  a  long  archway  of  elms  there,  a 
pretty  and  cool  place  to  saunter." 

They  moved  on  in  silence,  both  having  so  much  to 
say,  wishing  to  say  so  much,  that  utterance  was  choked 
and  neither  knew  where  to  begin. 

"  But  it's  a  beautiful  night  anyway,  Van,  despite 
grime  and  sordidness ;  you're  here  and  the  rest  doesn't 
matter  much." 

(<  You're  walking  too  quickly,  Blair ;  I  can't  keep 
up.  And  you've  got  your  arm  raised  so  high  that 
you'll  lift  me  from  the  ground,"  she  scolded  playfully, 
disregarding  his  praiseful  speech. 

He  slackened  his  steps  and  lowered  his  arm.  He 
always  felt  his  strength,  his  brute,  masculine  strength, 
when  with  her.  The  inclination  to  put  his  arm  around 
Evangeline  as  if  to  protect  her  from  the  world  was 
ever  strong  in  him.  Evangeline's  weakness,  her  sheer 
feminine  weakness,  was  one  of  the  ties  that  drew 
Blair  to  her. 

"  Come,"  she  said  impatiently,  "  we've  been  apart 
for  months  and  months  and  I  haven't  heard  a  single 
word  of  what  you've  been  doing." 

"  If  you  had  consented  to  take  that  walk  with  me 
when  I  was  home  last  winter,  I  might  have  told  you 
a  great  deal  then  and  it  would  make  it  so  much  easier 
now." 

"  Yes,  and  I  might  have  listened  to  a  great  deal  that 
day  when  I  was  out  at  the  mills  and  you  wouldn't  rec 
ognize  me,  and  that  would  have  made  it  easier  both 
times." 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  315 

He  explained  the  situation  of  that  unfortunate  occa 
sion,  his  amazement,  the  tumult  of  his  feelings,  his 
struggle  for  speech  against  overwhelming  emotions, 
the  diffidence  inspired  by  the  presence  of  the  others. 

How  often  had  she  not  told  herself  the  same  thing 
in  almost  the  same  way,  in  all  but  the  same  words,  only 
to  contradict  it  with  the  strong  negation  of  a  doubting 
love !  But  now  to  hear  it  affirmed  by  his  own  lips, 
passionately,  pleadingly — it  might  be  compared  to  the 
condemned  and  innocent  prisoner  who  listens  to  the 
reading  of  the  juror's  verdict  of  exculpation ;  and  yet, 
oh,  strange  inconsistency!  there  was  in  her  still  the 
inexplicable  desire  to  disbelieve  against  her  be 
lief. 

Her  whole  being  pulsated,  her  arm  was  withdrawn 
from  his ;  her  body  swayed,  as  if  inclination  were 
throwing  her  towards  him,  as  if  will  were  holding 
her  where  she  was.  Her  blue  eyes,  lustrous,  brimming 
with  consecrated  love,  were  turned  upon  him  as  if  in 
appeal. 

Her  slender  arm  slipped  into  his ;  they  walked  on 
again. 

"  Come,"    she    insisted,    her    tranquillity    regained, 
"  tell  me  what  you  have  been  doing." 
"  You  can  guess  pretty  well." 
"  Guessing  doesn't  satisfy  me  to-night." 
"  You've  grown  exacting." 
"  And  you've  grown  disrespectful,  sir." 
"  Is  that  the  only  change  you  notice  in  me  ?  " 
He  liked  to  put  his  sterner  and  more  serious  nature 
aside  and  don  the  cap  and  bells,  now  and  then,  when 
with  her.     Different  intellectual  faculties,  almost  atro 
phied  from  long  disuse,  came  into  play  when  he  talked 
to  Evangel ine. 


316  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Come,  Blair,  I  won't  be  put  off  that  way.  Tell  me." 

"  There  isn't  much  to  tell." 

"  Well,  tell  me  what  there  is." 

He  related  his  experiences  in  the  mills,  setting  down 
naught  in  malice  against  himself,  extenuating  nothing, 
his  eloquence  shedding  a  glow  over  the  most  common 
place  of  the  incidents  he  narrated.  Evangeline  list 
ened,  fascinated. 

"  Go  on,  please,"  she  begged,  when  he  had  done. 

"  But  there's  nothing  more  to  tell.  It's  your  turn 
now." 

"  Never  mind  me.  Are  you  sure  there's  nothing 
more  ?  "  she  asked,  vexatiously. 

"  Nothing,"  he  affirmed,  positively. 

"  I  know  you,  Blair.  You've  left  the  most  interest 
ing  part  out.  You  always  do  until  the  last.  You're 
waiting  to  be  begged,  but  I  shan't  beg." 

He  laughed,  pleased  to  be  known  so  well  by  one 
who  knew  him  so  well  in  every  turn  and  quirk  of  his 
complex  character.  He  paused,  drew  breath  and  de 
scribed  his  two  contests  with  Vorlinski  for  supremacy. 
Only  Blair  could  speak  as  Blair  spoke,  quietly,  artless 
ly,  yet  so  thrillingly  that  Van's  eyes  opened  wide  to 
bursting,  as  if  they  would  leap  their  sockets,  and  every 
nerve  tingled  from  tight  winding.  The  description 
of  the  rescue  on  the  rolls  capped  his  ascending  climax. 

"  Mercy !  "  she  cried,  as  if  something  were  passing 
before  her  vision  that  she  would  fain  not  see. 

"  I  oughtn't  to  have  told  you.  I  should  have  known 
better.  It  has  excited  you  too  much." 

His  arm  slipped  around  her  waist ;  the  clasp  was 
protective,  well-nigh  paternal,  not  the  amative  embrace 
of  a  lover.  Evangeline  understood  its  meaning  and 
she  did  not  withdraw  it  by  either  word  or  gesture. 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  317 

"  No,  I'm  thankful  to  you  for  telling  me,"  she  said. 
"  It  was  terrible  enough,  but  it  was  magnificent  to  hear. 
But,  O  Blair,  I  wish  you  would  leave  those  horrible 
mills  for  good.  You're  so  hot-headed,  so  rash  that 
I'm  afraid  you  will  lose  your  life." 

"  Few  days  pass  but  some  one  is  either  injured  se 
riously  or  killed  here,  Van.  It  costs  lives  to  make 
rails ;  trains  pass  over  human  bodies,  in  all  truth,  as 
they  whirl  from  city  to  city.  Some  days  many  are 
killed.  Am  I  any  better  than  they  ?  " 

"  Yes,  a  thousand  times,  inexpressibly  better  to  me." 

The  confession  was  so  abrupt,  it  spurted  with  so 
little  warning  from  her  lips,  that  Evangeline  blushed 
deeply,  her  neck  and  breast  suffused  with  red. 

Blair,  overwhelmed,  let  the  advantage  of  the  remark 
slip  his  grasp.  A  minute  passed,  then  another;  their 
conversation  rolled  down  the  channel  of  the  common 
place.  He  had  no  word  now  to  which  his  groping 
love  might  fasten  insistent  tentacles. 

"  Has  your  experience  here  changed  your  point  of 
view  ?  .Are  you  still  the  ardent  socialist  you  were  ?  " 

"  More  so.  I'm  surer  than  ever  that  I'm  right.  It's 
all  clear  now  and  it's  growing  clearer  every  day.  I 
have  tested  theory  by  fact,  at  least  I  have  held  my 
theories  up  to  the  strong  light  of  fact,  and  something 
like  that  must  come  if  this  world  of  ours  is  to  last. 
And  it's  coming,  Van ;  it's  coming !  "  he  spoke  with 
the  ringing  conviction  of  a  dreamer  whose  dreams 
have  become  as  realities. 

He  let  her  arm  drop  from  his,  and  gesticulated, 
while  he  outlined  his  new  economy  for  her  as  he  had 
done  for  hundreds  of  listeners  before  her,  only  there 
was  the  aclded  incentive  now  of  winning  the  belief  of 
the  woman  whose  love  he  had  won.  He  depicted  the 


318  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

suffering,  the  misery  he  had  witnessed ;  the  barren  life 
of  the  wretchedly  poor ;  he  dwelt  on  their  aspirations, 
their  hopes, — the  hopelessness  of  their  aspirations 
under  present  conditions.  He  contrasted  all  this  with 
the  luxuries  that  had  been  poured  as  in  a  golden 
shower  down  on  his  life  and  hers. 

They  reached  the  archway  of  shady  elms  whose 
branches  stretched  out  and  almost  intertwined  across 
the  long  avenue  that  led  out  from  the  ship -yards. 
Steel  river,  pure  and  clear  here,  purled  on  its  course 
through  the  darkness,  not  twenty  paces  away.  Great 
vessels,  recently  launched,  floated  idly  on  the  stream. 
In  their  short  walk  they  had  traversed  two  countries, 
leaving  the  repulsive  manufacturing  town  far  behind, 
to  enter,  as  it  were,  some  sylvan  bower.  A  full  moon, 
mellow  and  soft,  poured  the  incense  of  white  light 
over  the  tops  of  the  somnolent  elms. 

The  gladsome  change  charmed  Evangeline;  Blair 
was  only  dimly  conscious  of  it.  He  was  lost  in  the 
telling  of  his  own  thoughts,  in  the  demonstration  of 
his  beloved  theories ;  alike  to  the  beauty  or  ugliness 
of  his  surroundings  his  eyes  were  shut. 

He  hastened  on  to  a  consideration  of  the  strike,  miti 
gating  no  circumstance,  refining  no  hard  fact  because 
of  Evangeline's  relation  to  the  man  who  directed  the 
Company's  policy ;  even,  for  those  few  minutes,  for 
getting  it  entirely.  The  men  had  been  maltreated, 
wronged,  crushed ;  burdened  by  extortionate  rents  and 
robbed  by  exploited  wages.  They  had  been  as  rails 
between  the  upper  and  the  lower  rolls  of  the  capitalistic 
machinery.  They  had  the  right  on  their  side  and  they 
would  win ;  they  must  win.  The  Company  had  large 
government  and  private  contracts  which  must  be  com 
pleted  by  the  coming  November,  and  its  only  hope  lay 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  319 

in  the  capacity  and  skill  of  the  new  non-union  hands 
it  would  attempt  to  initiate.  The  hope  was  chimerical. 
The  men  had  but  to  wait  to  win. 

This  strike,  all  said  and  done,  was  but  a  false  note 
in  the  prelude  to  the  divine  symphony  of  the  Coopera 
tive  Commonwealth;  it  was  a  mere  accident,  a  pebble 
on  the  road  that  the  train  of  progress  would  grind  to 
dust  in  its  passing.  He  ended  with  a  rapturous  account 
of  the  glories  of  the  new  era  that  would  transmute 
the  iron  age  of  to-day  into  the  golden  age  of  to-mor 
row. 

As  always  he  was  talking  to  multitudes  and  not  to 
a  single  auditor ;  but  now  he  was  swaying  a  multitude 
and  her — a  multitude  made  thrice  illustrious  by  her 
presence.  He  was  uplifted,  inspired  by  her  love.  His 
oratory  became  an  orison.  If  he  could  carry  her  into 
the  fortress  of  his  faith  the  whole  world  would 
follow ;  if  he  brought  her  thither  the  world  might 
linger  behind.  Never,  never,  had  he  spoken 
thus,  with  such  utter  self-forgetfulness.  His  heart 
beat  on  his  lips ;  his  lips  were  pressed  to  his 
heart. 

Economics,  the  dismal  science,  beat  to  the  time  of 
a  noble  music ;  it  became  a  soul-stirring  song  attuned 
to  the  miserere  of  a  suffering  world ;  it  was  a  glee- 
some  chorus  chiming  the  jubilant  notes  of  a  world 
reborn  to  pristine  happiness. 

Evangeline,  cautious,  guarded,  careful,  kept  her  eyes 
open  to  the  work-a-day  world  whereon  she  trod,  and 
she  directed  her  imagination  with  the  taut  rein  of  her 
womanly  shrewdness.  On  her  surging  emotions, 
leaping  to  burst  their  bounds,  she  placed  the  stern 
hand  of  her  will.  It  recked  not ;  it  aided  not ;  his 
triumphant  eloquence  tore  that  hand  aside.  She  was 


32° 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


carried  away ;  his  orotund  voice  held  her  soul  captive 
and  led  her  at  its  beck. 

"  O  Blair,  Blair,"  she  gasped,  "  how  fine,  how  truly 
beautiful !  " 

"  You  believe  in  it  now,  Van ;  in  me  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  yes/'  she  answered. 

Midnight  was  approaching;  and  they  were  still 
pacing  back  and  forth  under  the  archway  of  the  elms. 
The  moon  hung  high  over  the  trees.  Everything 
seemed  animated,  awake ;  the  night  seemed  day  loosely 
covered  with  a  fluffy  and  waving  veil  of  darkness. 
The  leaves  shimmered  and  rustled  as  if  unable  and  un 
willing  to  sleep. 

Her  heated  thought  cooled ;  her  pulses  beat  calmer. 
She  detached  herself  from  him,  asserting  her  ego  in 
its  own  behalf. 

She  spoke  of  the  Settlement,  of  what  she  hoped  to 
accomplish  in  her  own  small  way — just  a  ripple  on 
time's  illimitable  ocean,  that  would  go  its  short  way, 
die  and  leave  no  trace  behind.  She  was  timid ;  her 
words  faltered  and  stumbled ;  it  was  all  so  paltry,  so 
trivial  when  measured  by  the  standard  of  his  proud, 
imperial,  world-wide  purpose. 

"  Do  you  know,"  propounded  Blair,  when  she  had 
done,  "  that  the  thing  which  strikes  me  strongest  in 
this  whole  socialistic  movement — and  your  Settlements 
are  perhaps  a  part  of  it — is  that  the  rich  are  more  pro 
foundly  concerned  than  the  poor.  It  is  extending  from 
up  down  ;  it  is  the  rich  who  are  bending  their  hands 
down  to  the  poor,  rather  than  that  the  poor  are  lifting 
their  hands  up  to  the  rich.  I  have  talked  to  some  of 
the  girls  here  and  they  seem  scarcely  able  to  compre 
hend  my  aims.  One,  in  particular,  who  knows  my 
previous  life  and  all,  scoffs  at  my  folly  in  discarding 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING 


32 


the  opportunities  of  riches  to  lead  this  life  of  hard 
ship;  and  she  is  a  girl  head  and  shoulders  above  the 
average  in  intelligence." 

"  I  have  noticed  the  same  thing  time  and  time 
again/'  agreed  Evangeline.  "  _t  struck  me  with  pecul- 
liar  vividness  the  other  night  in  my  talks  with  some 
of  the  people  who  visited  the  Settlement." 

"  And  here  are  two  of  us,  Van,  from  practically  the 
same  station  in  life  moved  by  the  same  ideas ;  and  we 
are  but  two  of  a  legion." 

"  May  their  number  increase,  Blair.  But  the  benefit 
is  two-fold — we  bring  to  the  poor  and  we  take  from 
them.  Do  you  think  that  you  have  paid  too  dearly 
for  your  experience?" 

"  Perhaps.  Time  will  have  to  decide  that.  I  can 
judge  only  by  its  present  worth,  and  judging  by  that 
it  has  been  worth  all  it  cost." 

"  I  hope  you  haven't  paid  too  dearly,  Blair,"  she 
said  wistfully,  the  staid  and  worldly-wise  Evangeline 
rising  uppermost  again.  "  I  always  thought  at  college 
that  you  sacrificed  too  much  for  people  who  weren't 
worth  it." 

"  No,"  he  answered  emphatically,  "  I  haven't  paid 
too  much.  I  couldn't  pay  too  much  for  what  I  have 
gained  out  here.  My  whole  life  has  been  made 
deeper,  broader,  fuller;  it  has  expanded  in  every  way." 

"  You  have  grown  clearer,  I  think,  Blair ;  more  con 
stant  to  one  aim,  more  steadfast.  You  used  to  vacil 
late  so  that  I  was  afraid  it  would  all  come  to  nothing. 
But  after  all  your  very  vacillation,  Blair,  may  have 
been  a  proof  of  steadfastness." 

He  nodded,  sensitively  aware  whither  her  delicately 
worded  conversation  was  drifting — to  the  breaking  of 
their  betrothal. 

21 


322 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


Evangeline  felt  intuitively  that  he  winced.  "  Am 
I  unjust,  Blair?"  she  asked. 

"  No,"  he  asseverated,  "  go  on,  Van !  " 

She  paused  unwilling  that  any  word  of  hers  should 
cost  him  a  twinge  of  pain,  knowing  that  her  silence 
expressed  her  thoughts  more  kindly  than  any  words 
she  could  say. 

"  It  may  have  been  all  for  the  best,"  he  said,  after 
a  bit,  "  and  after  all,  Van,  if  my  mind  wavered  on  that 
question,  my  heart  never  did." 

"  Are  you  sure,  Blair  ?  "  she  queried  in  her  playful- 
serious  way. 

Conscience  spoke  to  Blair  before  he  could  speak 
to  Evangeline.  The  thought  of  his  relation  to  Martha 
floated  over  the  perfect  bliss  of  the  present  moment 
like  a  bit  of  black  cloud  over  a  blue  sky.  His  passion 
was  like  a  curtain  that  spaced  off  all  the  past  and  hid 
the  future  dimly ;  Van's  question  was  like  the  stir  of  a 
zephyr  that  blew  it  aside  for  the  life  of  a  second  and 
discovered  what  was  now  a  rather  unpleasant  and 
willingly  forgotten  association. 

She  repeated  her  question,  more  earnestly  this  time. 
The  curtain  fluttered  undecidedly,  then  it  lifted  wide. 
He  grasped  it  firmly  and  held  it  open  that  she  might  see. 

"  It  was  only  for  a  minute ;  it  was  only  an  armistice, 
never  a  surrender.  It  was  like  traveling  a  bit  and 
then  coming  home  to  rest  and  to  remain,"  he  pleaded. 

"  Traveling  makes  people  dissatisfied  with  home 
very  often,  Blair." 

"  It  makes  them  contented  with  home  more  often." 

"  You  may  have  seen  things  during  your  sojourn 
that  you  will  miss  and  long  for  at  home." 

"  I  longed  for  things  during  my  sojourn,  I  missed 
things,  that  I  loved  best  at  home,  Van." 


THE  END  OF  THE  BEGINNING  323 

"  Home  may  grow  monotonous  and  you  will  want 
to  travel  again." 

"  Traveling  grew  monotonous  and  I  longed  to  re 
turn  home." 

"  The  first  moments  at  home  seem  best,  afterwards 
we  review  foreign  scenes  and  home  dulls  by  compari 
son." 

"  No,  we  are  so  glad  to  be  at  home  that  we  forget 
foreign  scenes,  or  else  in  recalling  them  we  wonder 
how  we  could  have  found  them  so  engaging." 

"  And  what  did  you  miss  most?  "  she  asked  archly. 

"  Sympathy — womanly,  honest,  intelligent  sympa 
thy." 

"  Is  that  such  a  rare  article — abroad  ?  " 

"  I  found  it  so— rather  I  couldn't  find  it  at  all." 

"  So  you  are  quite  willing  to  come  home  again,  just 
for  the  sake  of  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  to  stay  there  forever,  Van ;  if  you  will 
let  me." 

"  You  are  welcome  home,"  she  said  simply,  fervent 
ly,  "  and  you  will  never  know  how  much  you  were 
missed  while  you  were  away." 


XXIX 
TO  ARMS! 

THE  Company  persisted  in  its  demand  that  the 
sheriff  deputize  its  Pinkertons,  and  the  sheriff 
stubbornly  refused  to  grant  the  request  until 
the  Pinkertons  were  placed  within  the  property  of  the 
Company.     A  perfect  fusillade  of  correspondence  was 
fired  back  and  forth. 

The  Company's  quandary  was  serious.  The  Fourth 
of  July  was  but  a  day  or  two  away  and  violent  rioting 
on  that  occasion  was  not  regarded  in  the  light  of  an 
impossibility.  The  strikers  were  growing  more  and 
more  restless  every  hour;  the  frequency  of  minor  out 
breaks  (nipped  in  their  incipiency  by  the  authority  of 
the  Advisory  Committee)  and  sporadic  assaults  in 
creased  daily.  It  was  feared  that  the  Fourth  and  its 
associations  might  be  as  a  shibboleth  to  the  five  thou 
sand  idle  men  who  were  anxiously  awaiting  a  battle 
signal. 

Finally  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon  between  the 
obdurate  sheriff  and  the  apprehensive  Company ;  the 
latter  was  to  hold  its  force  of  Pinkerton  guards  in  re 
serve  at  Chicago ;  if  any  rioting  should  occur  that  the 
mill  watchmen  could  not  quell,  the  Pinkertons  were 
to  be  transported  by  boat  to  Marvin,  where  the  sheriff 
agreed  to  await  their  coming  and  to  deputize  them 
without  delay, 

324 


TO  ARMS  !  325 

The  men,  on  the  other  hand,  were  fearful  lest  the 
Company,  thinking  they  might  be  unwary,  should  make 
an  effort  to  land  a  host  of  Pinkertons  and  an  army  of 
non-union  men  within  the  mills.  The  strikers  in 
creased  their  force  of  pickets  to  a  thousand,  encircling 
every  inch  of  debatable  ground.  The  tug  hired  to 
patrol  the  lake  along  the  grounds  of  the  mill  was  given 
warning  to  observe  the  most  vigilant  lookout. 

At  the  request  of  the  Advisory  Committee,  who  were 
bent  upon  their  forces  obeying  the  law,  the  saloons  in 
Marvin  and  the  adjacent  districts  were  closed.  There 
was  little  disorder  and  no  drunkenness.  A  miscella 
neous  shooting  of  arms,  a  desultory  explosion  of 
crackers,  a  little  pyrotechnic  oratory  as  to  what  the 
day  symbolized  to  the  fathers,  marked  the  Fourth  from 
the  other  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  days  of  the 
year. 

The  whole  town  became  a  garrison  in  the  attitude 
for  action ;  ears  were  attuned  for  the  word  of  com 
mand  ;  eyes  sharpened  for  the  approach  of  the  enemy ; 
stray  noises,  inconsequential  rumors,  annoyed  and  ex 
cited  the  five  thousand  soldiers  on  the  offensive. 

At  three  in  the  afternoon,  seven  protracted  shrieks 
blew  from  the  whistle  of  the  tug.  They  were  followed 
by  three  quick  blasts.  Those  who  held  the  key  to  the 
cipher  of  the  signal  translated  it :  "  Pinkertons  are 
landing  on  the  extreme  north  end." 

"  To  arms !  To  arms !  "  rang  the  cry.  It  roared 
from  mouth  to  mouth.  The  town  was  alive,  seething, 
like  the  waters  of  the  lake  stirred  by  a  squall  to 
spumous  waves.  The  soldiers  of  industry  were  on  the 
move,  their  wives  and  daughters  at  their  sides,  their 
children  stepping  in  the  marks  left  by  the  heels  of 
their  elders  in  the  dust  and  the  mire.  Guns,  pistols, 


326  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

rifles,  stones  and  sticks  made  an  odd,  unsoldierly  but 
terrific  assortment  of  weapons.  So  eager  were  they 
to  fight  that  they  cared  not  with  what  they  fought. 
This  jumble  of  munition — this  undisciplined  move 
ment — was  not  ludicrous ;  it  was  titanically  horrible. 
It  gave  proof  enough  that  the  elemental  passions  had 
full  sway,  and  that  an  earnestness  that  death  alone 
could  chill  captained  the  rude,  untrained  soldiery. 
It  was  a  mob  that  an  army  could  have  dispersed  with 
a  few  practised  tactics ;  but  the  desperation  of  that 
mob  would  have  made  any  army  invincible. 

They  streamed  from  the  tenements,  overflowed  the 
streets  and  deluged  the  wide  expanse  of  open  prairie. 
As  it  moved  the  central  stream  was  swelled  by  tribu 
taries,  tearing  in  from  all  directions — some  tributaries 
that  no  one  suspected  had  existence ;  rivulets  that 
sprang,  as  if  by  magic,  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth. 
The  first  intimation  of  trouble  in  Marvin  had  brought 
the  idle  and  the  vicious  from  Chicago,  the  detached 
element  ever  ready  to  shift  and  attach  itself  to  any  at 
tack  on  organized  society.  The  flushing  of  the  waters 
in  Marvin  drained  the  cesspool  of  Chicago.  An  idle 
town  is  the  devil's  Paris. 

Like  a  cataract  that  gathers  all  its  waters  before  a 
mad  plunge,  they  assembled,  panting  and  foaming  for 
the  leap,  before  the  fences  of  the  mill.  Blair,  Wins- 
low,  Ben  Judson,  Bach,  McNaughton,  Michael  Brod- 
ski,  all  the  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the 
strike,  were  running  along  at  the  head,  flecks  of  foam 
that  dotted  the  first  eddy,  and  the  first  that  were  to  be 
hurtled  over  in  the  downward  roll.  They  sought  to 
give  these  wild  waters  direction,  but  they  were  di 
rected  by  them ;  they  were  drops  in  the  cataract,  com 
pelled  to  follow  its  course. 


TO  ARMS  !  327 

Two  whistles  throbbed  high  and  clear  above  the  dis>- 
tracted  yells  of  the  mob. 

"  Turn  back,  men !  Turn  back,  men !  "  cried  the 
leaders.  "  False  alarm  !  False  alarm  !  " 

The  mob  growled  like  a  dog  that  has  had  a  succu 
lent  bone  jerked  from  its  teeth;  like  a  crouching  lion 
held  at  gaze  by  the  slender  whip  of  a  weak  keeper. 
Their  rage  was  demoniac ;  anger  had  wrought  them  up 
to  the  pitch  of  insanity.  The  bone  was  still  in  sight — 
snarlingly  they  showed  their  teeth  and  refused  to 
move.  Blair  ran  hither  and  thither,  threatening,  ca 
joling,  promising,  begging — one  form  of  exhortation 
as  useless  as  the  other.  His  influence  had  effect  with 
the  few ;  but  the  few  were  soon  in  control  of  the  heed 
less  many. 

Closer  and  closer  the  throng  pushed  up  to  the 
fences,  the  front  lines  heaved  forward  by  those  jam 
ming  and  pressing  in  back.  It  was  a  tempestuous  sea 
of  faces ;  and  the  face  of  the  sea  made  Blair's  blood 
run  cold  with  a  paralyzing  dread. 

He  looked  around  to  see  what  had  become  of  the 
members  of  the  committee.  Bach,  his  corpulent  frame 
overcome  by  the  heat,  had  withdrawn.  Winslow,  Ben 
Judson,  McNaughton,  Michael  Brodski,  were  being 
buffeted  about  like  flotsam  on  the  face  of  the  waters, 
tossed  from  wave  to  wave,  their  sweaty  faces  and  up 
lifted  arms  alone  discernible  as  they  besought  the 
crowd  to  disperse — Canutes  bidding  the  tide  recede. 

Blair's  immense  frame,  contracted  by  the  terror  and 
crying  necessity  of  the  moment,  stood  fixed  as  the  pier 
of  a  lighthouse  amid  the  breakers ;  his  square  shoul 
ders,  his  large  head  conspicuous  and  prominent  as  the 
lantern. 

A  squad  of  police  sauntered  down  to  the  crowd, 


328 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


looked  on  idly  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  went  on 
their  untroubled  way,  to  report  that  all  was  well.  The 
police  were  at  one  with  the  purpose  of  the  strike  and 
the  cause  of  the  strikers,  and,  until  avoidance  was  im 
possible,  they  determined  not  to  interfere. 

The  pressing  and  pushing  continued,  like  waves 
dashed  hither  and  thither  by  whipping  winds.  Vor- 
linski  hove  in  sight,  shoving  his  way  steadily  towards 
Blair,  a  vicious  expression  glittering  in  his  small  green 
eyes,  his  cheekbones  protruding  like  two  knobs;  rag 
ing  like  a  bull,  urging  those  around  him  to  come  on, 
hurling  the  taunt,  "  Coward !  Coward !  Coward !  "  in 
their  teeth,  now  in  Polish,  now  in  Hungarian,  now  in 
English.  He  was  working  directly  for  Blair;  the 
word  vengeance  written  in  his  bead-like  eyes  and 
painted  on  his  knob-like  cheekbones. 

The  Pole  was  using  his  massive  shoulders  like  two 
wheels  to  roll  him  through  the  mass  of  struggling 
flesh  towards  the  chosen  leader  of  yesterday  and  the 
day  before.  Blair  caught  sight  of  a  jagged  piece  of 
slag  in  the  hand  of  his  dangerous  foe  and  he  knew 
full  well  that  when  the  advantageous  moment  came  it 
would  go  crashing  towards  his  head.  His  eyes  were 
fixed  on  the  Pole's,  his  head  was  clear  and  calm,  and  a 
course  of  action  was  outlined  for  emergency.  His  el 
bows  protruded  at  his  sides  like  two  poles,  giving  him 
a  few  inches  to  bend,  to  stoop,  or  to  dodge.  Then  the 
rabble  swayed  and  heaved,  and  Vorlinski  was  borne 
off  in  another  direction. 

As  the  minutes  flew  on  the  jam  augmented  instead 
of  decreased ;  women,  boys,  old  men,  stalwart  steel 
workers,  those  who  had  been  left  behind  in  the  first 
rise  of  the  flood,  came  steadily  drifting  forward,  clam 
oring  and  stampeding  for  place  in  front. 


TO  ARMS  !  329 

The  July  sun  beat  down  relentlessly,  sizzling  on  the 
exposed  heads  of  the  multitude  like  drops  of  molten 
iron,  adding  to  the  fever  of  their  blood,  increasing  the 
fire  of  their  temper  like  alcoholic  draughts. 

Refluent  waves  surged  forward,  and  familiar  faces, 
riding  triumphantly  on  top,  passed  Blair  again  and 
again,  disappearing  always  before  he  could  speak  a 
word  of  admonition.  Jan  Brodski,  grim,  decided, 
plucking  at  his  red  beard,  pushed  shoulder  to  shoulder 
with  his  brother  Michael,  upbraiding  him  acrimo 
niously  for  his  efforts  at  peace-making  when  war  was 
so  favorable  to  the  cause.  The  brothers  exchanged 
recriminating  words ;  Jan's  right  arm  was  lifted 
fiercely,  then  the  heaving  mob  bore  Michael  out  of  his 
reach.  In  the  back  ranks  the  youthful  Thomas  was 
haranguing  his  troop  of  boys,  eager  for  a  fray  of  any 
description. 

Mrs.  Brodski  swung  for  a  moment  in  front  of  Blair, 
Mary  and  Anna  clinging  affrighted  to  her  dress,  saved 
from  being  trampled  to  death  as  by  a  miracle,  crying, 
crushed,  and  bruised.  Paul  rolled  along,  just  behind 
his  mother;  Wanda  was  at  his  side,  anxious  to  catch 
up  with  the  children  to  save  them  from  harm.  Paul 
grimaced  a  grin  of  recognition  at  Blair,  ambiguous 
with  many  meanings. 

"  Get  away  from  here !  Go  home !  "  yelled  Blair, 
losing  control,  enraged  at  the  authority  that  exuded 
from  his  finger-tips,  goaded  by  the  desertion  of  his 
friends.  "  Wanda,  you  with  a  rifle !  In  the  name  of 
God  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  ?  Where  did 
you  get  it?  Snatch  it  from  her,  Paul!  Such  things 
are  not  for  women !  " 

The  crowd  lurched  and  shoved ;  the  mother  and  her 
children,  the  daughter  with  her  rifle  and  the  blond 


330  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

son  were  swept  away.  The  sweat  dripped  down 
Blair's  cheeks  and  blinded  his  eyes;  the  taste  of  its 
salt  was  in  his  mouth. 

The  moment  was  becoming  horrible,  annihilating. 
Unless  relief  came,  sheriff,  soldiers  or  watchmen,  he 
dared  not  think  what .  the  next  minute  might  bring 
forth.  His  nerve  was  failing;  his  courage  was  oozing 
away.  He  was  like  a  keeper  who  had  liberated  a 
chained  beast  and  now  cowed  before  the  beast  he  had 
liberated.  For  lack  of  otheis  to  attack,  the  most  vio 
lent  would  turn  against  their  peace-counseling  com 
rades. 

A  polyglot  muttering  buzzed  about  Blair's  roaring 
ears  ;  growing  more  ominous  with  every  minute.  Why 
did  this  man  hold  them  back?  Why  had  he  repri 
manded  Wanda  for  clinging  to  her  gun?  Who  was 
this  man  who  pretended  to  be  their  friend,  and  who  was 
now  aligning  his  authority  and  influence  with  the  capi 
talists  and  the  protection  of  their  property?  They  had 
the  consistency  that  conies  from  one  thought ;  the  in 
consistency  that  comes  from  many  thoughts  was  in 
comprehensible  to  their  narrow,  sodden  understand 
ing. 

The  fence  was  moving ;  the  posts  bent.  Weak  spots 
were  giving  way.  A  heavy  boot  kicked  at  a  board  and 
went  crashing  through  it.  Other  boots  beat  against 
other  boards.  The  crowd  huzzaed  lustily.  The  force 
of  example  won  scores  of  converts.  Sticks,  stones 
were  hurled  against  the  crashing  lumber ;  shoulders 
and  bodies  battered  against  the  opposing  barriers. 
Twenty  feet  of  the  planking  went  down  with  a  crash ; 
another  five  zigzagged  to  the  ground  with  it.  The 
mob,  with  a  battle-cry  of  triumph,  rushed  inside  of  the 
mill.  Feet,  hands,  legs,  dresses  and  coats  were  torn 


TO  ARMS  !  331 

and  severed  by  the  insidious  barbs ;  the  slight  wounds 
infuriated  but  the  more,  drawing  just  sufficient  blood 
to  goad  and  not  enough  to  weaken.  Yard  after  yard 
of  the  fence  went  down  with  a  crackling  peal ;  the  in 
furiated  mob  was  inside. 

The  watchmen  ran  for  their  lives,  scampering  like 
rats  for  the  exit  at  the  south  end  of  the  mills,  hugging 
the  sheltering  walls  of  the  buildings  in  their  flight. 
The  head  watchman  hastened  to  the  telephone  of  the 
first  drug-store  to  communicate  with  the  Pinkerton 
office.  He  had  been  cautioned  by  the  Company  not 
to  send  for  the  Pinkertons  unless  the  emergency  were 
urgent,  and  the  caution  made  him  vacillate  during  the 
half-hour  that  the  mob  was  stampeding  without  the 
fence.  The  druggist  refused  him  the  use  of  his  tele 
phone.  It  would  mean  the  wreckage  of  his  business 
if  the  strikers  discovered  his  compliance.  He  darted 
for  the  telegraph  office ;  the  operator  took  the  message ; 
the  watchman  left.  The  message  suffered  an  un 
conscionable  delay.  The  operator  had  a  brother  who 
worked  in  the  mill. 

Inside  the  yards  the  army  of  industry  halted  for  a 
second  or  two,  undecided  whither  to  turn  now  that  it 
had  reached  its  goal.  Blair  stood  to  one  side,  waiting 
for  the  arrival  of  Winslow,  Ben  Judson  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Advisory  Committee.  Bach  had  taken 
himself  home,  prostrated  by  the  heat. 

Winslow,  Ben  Judson  and  Michael  Brodski  forged 
ahead,  catching  sight  of  Blair;  two  of  the  others 
joined  them.  All  resolved  to  do  what  they  could  to 
prevent  destruction,  even  to  the  risking  of  their  lives. 

"  To  the  electric  light  plant !  "  "  To  the  blast-fur 
naces  !  "  "  To  the  boiler-houses !  "  came  in  a  babel  of 
cries.  The  nearest  building  was  the  most  enticing; 


332  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  straight  line  was  preferred  to  a  curve.  They  burst 
open  the  door  of  a  tool-shed  and  gutted  it  of  pick 
axes,  crow-bars,  hammers  and  axes  and  chisels;  those 
who  had  sixth  choice  seized  shovels.  They  swarmed 
out  as  they  had  swarmed  in. 

They  stopped  at  the  car-tracks  which  curved  near  the 
boiler-houses  of  the  blast-furnaces  and  they  began  to 
work  at  the  rails,  pulling  them  up  from  the  ties.  Vor- 
linski  moiled  like  a  demon;  he  seemed  the  spirit  of 
anarchy,  of  destruction  incarnate.  It  was  a  foolish 
waste  of  energy,  a  lavish  expenditure  of  strength. 
They  were  pulling  down  what  would  be  a  mere  cost 
of  time  to  put  up.  The  same  strength,  the  same  force 
intelligently  directed,  could  have  demolished  millions, 
which  was  their  purpose.  It  was  blind  wrath  and  it 
worked  blindly. 

The  scent  of  smoke  filled  the  July  air ;  wreaths  of  it 
were  curling  out  of  the  tool-house.  Flames  followed. 
Michael  caught  sight  of  his  brother  Thomas  creeping 
around  the  side  of  the  burning  building.  He  had 
touched  a  match  to  the  straw  that  littered  the  floor. 

Blair  groaned.  By  the  lurid  flames  of  that  fire  he  read 
the  message  that  doomed  his  cause  and  theirs.  With 
out  right,  without  cause,  they  had  burned,  they  had 
demolished.  The  law  would  avenge ;  public  opinion 
would  decry. 

The  mob  was  frantic  with  a  childish  exultation. 
To  them  that  flame-swept  building  was  a  bonfire  lit 
to  celebrate  a  victory.  They  cheered  with  full  lungs. 
They  ceased  their  attack  against  matter  and  drew  near 
to  watch  it.  They  were  ready  to  join  hands  and  dance 
the  carmagnole  around  the  inspiring  blaze. 

"  On!  On!  "  came  the  shibboleth.  "  To  the  boiler- 
houses  !  To  the  boiler-houses !  "  The  cry  was  started 


TO  ARMS!  333 

by  a  Croatian  who  had  worked  there  as  a  stoker  and 
who  bore  a  grudge  against  the  work.  He  would  be 
avenged  now !  Others  took  the  cry  up ;  it  waxed  to  a 
roar,  loud,  deafening,  like  the  clash  of  mighty  cym 
bals. 

Winslow,  Blair  and  McNaughton  harangued  and 
pleaded,  their  voices  were  drowned  in  a  tempest  of 
disapproval.  Michael  Brodski  was  threatened  by  his 
own  brothers,  warned  in  no  mild  terms  to  hold  his 
tongue  or  betake  himself  homeward. 

The  strikers  pushed  on,  the  women  at  the  head  in 
toxicated  with  their  mission  as  revolutionists.  It  was 
a  dissipation  of  excited  nerves  that  thrilled  with  the 
warm,  delicious  sensation  of  the  new  and  the  uncom 
mon.  The  men  were  spasmodic.  The  boys  and  chil 
dren  were  carried  away  by  the  infectious  enthusiasm; 
they  became  adult  by  this  tasting  of  forbidden  fruit ; 
rage  strengthened  their  puny  arms ;  they  swung  pick 
axes  and  crowbars  aloft  with  a  readiness  almost  equal 
to  that  of  their  elders. 

Bozic,  the  blind  watchman,  the  only  one  who  had 
remained  true  to  his  trust,  who  would  not  desert, 
opened  the  closed  doors  of  the  boiler-house  and  stood 
on  the  top  of  the  raised  platform  that  led  up  to  the 
entrance  of  the  oblong  building.  He  had  been  prowl 
ing  from  place  to  place  throughout  the  day.  He  had 
heard  the  yells  of  the  mob  as  it  tore  down  the  fences 
and  rushed  inside  of  the  mill,  the  breaking  open  of  the 
tool-house,  the  pulling  up  of  the  tracks.  He  had 
scented  the  smoke  of  the  burning  building,  and  feel 
ing  instinctively  that  the  boiler-house  would  be  the 
next  objective  move  of  the  march  of  destruction,  he 
had  retreated  thither,  resolved  to  guard  it  single- 
handed.  The  Company  had  cared  for  him  after  the 


334  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

loss  of  his  sight;  he  would  protect  the  Company.  He 
stood  there  pistol  in  hand,  his  stocky  frame  Lacked 
against  the  large  doors. 

Blair,  Winslovv,  Ben  Judson,  Michael  Brodski  and 
McNaughton  clashed  forward.  It  was  their  plan  to 
assist  the  blind  man  in  the  performance  of  his  duty, 
in  the  holding  of  the  reckless  crowd  at  bay.  Judson, 
who  was  swiftest  of  foot,  distanced  the  others  in  the 
race. 

"Scab!  Scab!  Kill  him!  Burn  him !  Kill  him !" 
the  mob  cried  at  first  sight  of  the  blind  watchman. 

Hundreds  hurried  in  the  track  of  the  five  foremost, 
mistaking  their  motive  of  defense  for  one  of  attack. 
It  would  make  a  fine  example — the  killing  of  the  first 
scab  that  fell  into  their  hands  ;  and  they  thirsted  for 
the  privilege  of  inflicting  the  punishment.  Their 
wrath  magnified  Bozic  into  the  importance  of  an  ap 
proaching  army ;  and  they  crushed  on  as  if  ardent  to 
try  their  unresisted  strength. 

The  Bohemian  heard  their  minatory  cries ;  he  knew 
full  well  what  it  all  imported.  He  pursed  his  thin  lips 
into  a  pucker  of  resoluteness  and  he  stood  his  ground. 
Doubtless  if  he  killed  one  the  dread  fate  would  warn 
the  others.  He  heard  the  rumble  of  countless  feet 
moving  towards  him. 

"  I  kills  the  first  mans  that  comes !  "  he  yelled  in  his 
broken  English. 

Ben  Judson,  carried  forward  by  the  impetus  of  his 
running,  had  his  foot  on  the  platform  ten  seconds  be 
fore  he  saw  the  pistol  gleaming  at  the  watchman's  side, 
five  seconds  before  he  heard  his  warning  cry.  Bozic, 
directed  by  the  blind  man's  unerring  sense  of  sound, 
raised  his  weapon,  aimed  and  fired. 

"  I'm  shot!     I'm  shot!  "  moaned  Ben  and  he  reeled 


TO  ARMS  !  335 

into  Winslow's  clasping  arms.  Blair's  heart  hammered 
in  his  parched  mouth,  the  blue  vein  that  ran  through 
the  centre  of  his  high  forehead  empurpled,  then  he 
covered  his  face  with  his  hands ;  blood  gurgled  in  his 
throat. 

"  I  wash  my  hands  of  this  kind  of  business,"  cried 
McNaughton,  and  he  walked  in  dejection  towards  the 
gate.  Others  of  the  Advisory  Committee  followed 
him.  A  shower,  an  avalanche  of  stones,  slag,  sticks 
went  hurling  at  the  slayer's  head.  A  dozen  shots  were 
fired ;  most  of  them  wide  of  the  mark,  one  taking  swift 
effect.  The  body  of  the  watchman  fell  lifeless ;  the 
battered  door  swung  on  wavering  hinges.  They 
thronged  forward;  their  boiling  ire  whipped  to  foam. 
A  comrade  was  slain,  woe  to  the  murderers ! 

When  Blair  looked  up,  Michael  Brodski  had  fol 
lowed  the  destroyers  inside  the  boiler-house,  Winslow 
and  his  precious  burden,  with  what  made  it  most 
precious  gone  forever,  beyond  the  recall  of  human 
power,  had  disappeared.  Sickened,  queasy,  he  turned 
away,  the  wall  of  flesh  on  the  platform  making  way 
for  his  sad  and  weakened  step.  He  was  ready  to  de 
sert,  to  slink  away  like  a  starved  and  beaten  cur.  His 
strong  soul  was  faint  as  wind,  his  blood  unstable  as 
water.  He  was  a  general  disgusted  with  his  soldiers, 
with  faith  lost  in  his  cause,  revolted  at  the  carnage  of 
a  useless  and  meaningless  battle ;  a  general  who  would 
have  welcomed  a  bullet  from  friend  or  foe  alike,  as 
the  unstrained  quality  of  mercy.  Not  against  Bozic 
but  against  himself  did  Ben  Judson's  spilled  blood  cry 
from  the  ground.  The  pride  of  his  princely  bearing 
was  shrunk  and  gone. 

He  tottered  down  the  sloping  platform,  man  after 
man  edged  back  to  let  him  pass;  a  lull  of  sympathy 


336  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

calming,  for  the  moment,  the  storm  of  their  passions. 
On  the  fringe  of  the  serried  ranks,  a  satanic  face 
grinned  mercilessly  at  him. 

"  You !  Now !  "  Vorlinski  plunged  forward,  swing 
ing  a  short  iron  bar,  his  face  truculent  with  the  venge 
ance  that  had  been  balked  so  often,  fretful  lest  the 
unequal  advantage  of  Blair's  indisposition  for  combat 
slip  his  greedy  grasp. 

The  iron  bar  circled  upwards  with  murderous  in 
tent.  The  instinct  of  self-preservation  pulled  Blair 
back  a  pace ;  then  he  shrugged  his  shoulders.  An  ex 
pression  of  surprise  shadowed  the  Pole's  countenance, 
the  iron  stood  midway,  still,  held  by  the  wonderment 
of  the  mind  that  directed  its  aim.  Vorlinski  feared 
the  resourcefulness  of  the  enemy  who  had  always  out 
witted  him  at  the  crucial  moment.  Then  the  iron  was 
lifted  back  to  gain  renewed  momentum  on  a  down 
ward  course. 

Some  one  dealt  the  Pole  a  blow  on  the  head.  He 
sank  to  the  ground.  A  one-armed  man — his  right 
arm  a  stump  that  filled  a  gaping  sleeve  but  an  inch  or 
two  from  the  elbow — had  struck  Vorlinski.  Blair 
looked  up.  It  was  Llewellyn,  the  Welsh  machinist, 
whom  he  had  rescued  on  the  rolls  from  death. 

"  Thanks,"  nodded  Blair,  indifferently,  and  he 
walked  on. 

He  saw  Winslow  seated  near  a  pile  of  chilled  in 
gots,  with  Ben's  body  stretched  across  his  knee.  There 
was  a  blank  stare  on  the  Englishman's  face,  null  as 
death  itself. 

"  It's  all  up !  It's  all  up !  "  he  moaned  to  Blair, 
awed  before  the  eternal  mystery ;  dazed  by  the  manner 
of  its  coming. 

They  sat  beside  each  other  in  silence,  drawn  closer 


TO  ARMS!  337 

by  the  unanswerable  reproach  from  the  dead  man's 
eyes.  They  were  partners  in  crime,  they  felt;  with 
equal  suffering  they  would  expiate  their  sin. 

The  clatter  from  the  boiler-houses,  the  din  and  roar, 
the  pounding  of  iron  on  iron  that  came  from  where 
the  frenzied  horde  was  still  at  work,  rolled  over  their 
heads  and  was  not  heard. 

The  doors  of  the  boilers  were  broken  and  cracked; 
valves  smashed;  sides  caved  in.  It  was  a  task  that 
would  have  challenged  a  Cyclops,  but  there  was  plenty 
and  enough  of  cyclopean  strength  to  accept  the  chal 
lenge.  The  army  was  deluged  with  sweat  as  with 
rain,  veins  bulged,  muscles  groaned,  limbs  gave  way; 
but  a  fresh  relay  was  ever  ready  to  take  the  place  of 
those  worn  out.  The  task  was  growing  stale,  the 
hyper-excitement  was  fast  growing  dull,  dimming  into 
a  distressing  monotony. 

"  To  the  blast-furnaces  !  To  the  casting-houses !  " 
cried  an  innovator.  The  cry  was  taken  up  with  a 
vengeance  that  animated  the  flagging;  they  cheered  to 
cheer  themselves.  A  wolverine  spirit  dominated — 
they  had  but  the  outward  semblance  of  men  and 
women. 

They  burst  into  the  cast-houses ;  they  pulled  down 
the  immense  bustles,  smashed  the  boshes  and  mantles, 
climbed  on  ladders  to  the  stacks  and  did  what  damage 
they  could.  The  heavy  sheeting  of  the  stoves  resisted 
their  hammers,  laughing  in  mocking  reverberation  as 
the  blows  broke  on  their  impenetrable  sides.  They 
howled  and  cursed,  redoubling  their  fruitless  attack. 

The    place  rang    like    thunder  with    the    unending 

crash.    A  woman  was  killed  by  the  part  of  a  bustle  that 

fell  before  the  word  of  alarm  could  be  sounded.     But 

they  cared  not ;  and  they  stopped  not.     Twenty-five  of 

22 


338  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  strongest  men  united  their  efforts  on  one  stove.  It 
gave  way  with  a  deep  groan.  The  whole  pack  yelped 
victoriously.  The  weaker  were  encouraged.  They 
were  drunk  with  their  own  strength.  An  orgasm  fired 
their  blood.  The  insatiable  greed  for  greater  and 
greater  ruination  drove  them  on.  The  new  machinery 
that  had  robbed  so  many  of  them  of  bread  was  dismem 
bered  beyond  hope  of  repair.  Brandishing  their  axes, 
shaking  picks  and  hammers,  they  debouched  to  the 
elevators.  Machinery  was  the  enemy  that  deprived 
them  of  employment,  the  monster  that  snatched  the 
bread  from  the  hands  cf  their  hungry  children.  Down 
with  machinery !  An  end  to  all  of  it !  They  cut  the 
coils ;  ruined  the  elevators ;  hacked  and  hewed  the 
shafting. 

The  women  left  the  men  and  sought  a  pathway  of 
devastation  of  their  own.  Mrs.  Brodski  and  Wanda 
moved  at  their  head.  Frenzy  unsexed  them ;  they 
were  neither  men  nor  women ;  they  were  something 
worse  than  either, — androgynous  creatures  that  re 
tained  the  worst  passions  of  both  and  lost  the  best. 
The  children  followed  the  women ;  Thomas  Brodski 
urging  on  his  regiment  of  boys.  Michael  protesting 
against  their  wanton  vengeance  was  felled  to  the 
ground  by  a  stone  from  the  hand  of  his  own  brother. 
He  arose  and  limped  after  the  pack. 

The  women  and  children  scudded  along  to  the  north 
slip — a  broad  inlet  from  the  lake.  An  ore  vessel  of 
seven  thousand  tons  capacity  lay  moored  at  anchor. 
The  immense  boat  had  been  emptied  of  its  burden  and 
it  was  sleeping  idly,  unsuspicious  of  trouble.  The 
more  agile  clambered  up  its  sides  and  climbed  down 
into  its  hold.  The  others  scattered  along  the  trestles 
of  the  automatic  ore-lifters  and  wrought  havoc  with 


TO  ARMS  ! 


339 


pick  and  ax.  Ore  cars  were  pushed  from  the  tracks 
on  to  the  ground.  It  was  a  picture  that  Dore  would 
have  loved  to  limn ;  the  canvas  of  a  lurid  reality, 
furiously  grotesque,  poetically  cruel  as  a  Canto  from 
the  Inferno. 

Mary  and  Anna  Brodski,  lost  sight  of  by  their 
mother,  were  scaling  the  huge  piles  of  iron  ore,  en 
deavoring  to  reach  the  trestles  in  the  only  way  pos 
sible  to  their  short  statures  and  weak  limbs;  Thomas 
leaped  after  them,  seeing  a  quicker  and  easier  route 
to  join  his  elders ;  others  scampered  behind  Thomas. 

The  disturbed  ore  sifted  downward  heavily  towards 
the  bottom ;  then  the  falling  became  swifter  as  the 
climbing  feet  displaced  more  and  more  of  the  heavy 
material.  Thomas  boxed  Anna's  ears  for  impeding 
his  way ;  she  struggled  in  vain  to  extricate  her  feet  and 
give  her  commanding  brother  the  right  of  way.  Mary 
was  up  still  higher,  panting  and  out  of  breath.  The 
ore  tumbled  quicker  and  quicker  and  in  larger  and 
larger  masses.  Suddenly  there  was  a  crash ;  the 
towering  pile  seemed  to  crack  in  its  center,  opening 
like  a  huge  mouth.  The  children  screamed  in  fright, 
feeling  the  ore  roll  away  from  under  their  feet ;  then 
the  lips  of  the  gaping  mouth  shut,  swallowing  the  chil 
dren  as  easily  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  of  the  iron 
filaments. 

The  women  reached  the  deck  of  the  ship  in  time 
to  see  the  catastrophe  of  the  sinking  ore  piles ;  yelling 
and  screaming,  they  hurtled  forward.  The  red  dust 
from  the  contrition  of  the  ore  filled  the  air,  forming  a 
halo  around  the  flat,  stretched-out  heap.  Mrs.  Brodski 
saw  it  all,  transfixed  like  an  image  of  wood,  unable 
to  move  hand  or  foot ;  the  avalanche  of  metal  seemed 
rolling  over  her  heart,  filling  her  eyes  and  ears,  stop- 


340  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ping  her  mouth.  She  was  the  first  of  the  women  to 
reach  the  caved  pile.  Michael  was  already  there,  dig 
ging  into  the  ore  with  his  bare  hands,  crying  like  a 
child,  talking  to  himself  incoherently.  The  amazons 
toiled  like  demons  at  the  resisting,  heavy  ore  with  ax 
and  shovels  and  picks  and  hands. 

The  men  had  resumed  their  march  of  obliteration. 
The  ranks  severed ;  part  of  the  strikers  sped  towards 
the  plate-mill ;  the  rest — the  main  division — enfiladed 
towards  the  steel-mill. 

The  women  scuttled  after  the  men,  leaving  Mrs. 
Brodski  and  Michael  and  a  few  distracted  mothers  to 
continue  their  tristful  task  of  extricating  the  bodies. 

"What  are  they  going  to  do  now?"  ejaculated 
Blair,  aroused  from  his  lethargy  by  the  sight  of  the 
two  teeming  armies,  blazoning  their  way  with  ax  and 
torch. 

"  Look  back  of  you !  Look  back  of  you !  "  yelled 
Win  slow. 

Blair  turned.  His  jaws  dropped.  The  long  deck 
of  the  ore  vessel,  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  end 
to  end,  was  a  carpet  of  flame.  Fire  was  bursting  out 
of  its  sides;  carmine  eddies  were  leaping  towards  the 
sky.  In  another  minute  the  whole  ship  was  hidden 
from  view  by  a  veil  of  fire.  The  women  were  speech 
less  with  glee  over  the  success  of  their  incendiary  la 
bors  ;  their  shrieks  of  laughter  could  be  heard  in  every 
direction.  The  two  battalions  halted  for  a  second, 
raised  an  exulting  paean,  and  plunged  on  to  consum 
mate  this  lesser  victory  by  a  still  greater  one. 

"  Go  with  them,  Carrhart,"  commanded  Winslow. 
"  Do  what  you  can.  I'll  take  care  of  him."  He  arose, 
lifting  the  corpse  in  his  arms. 

"  I  can't  go,"  replied  Blair,  "  I  haven't  nerve  enough 


TO  ARMS  !  341 

left  to  lift  a  grain  of  sand.  I  wish  I  were  there — with 
Ben." 

"  You've  got  to  go ;  and  by  the  living  Christ  you  shall 
go.  You  started  this  thing  and  you've  got  to  see  it 
through." 

Blair's  quick  was  stung;  but  his  spirit  had  not 
strength  enough  to  moan  even  a  faltering  retort.  He 
sank  down  on  the  black  ingots,  inert. 

"  It's  not  the  time  to  play  coward  now,"  said  Wins- 
low,  harshly.  "  You've  got  to  go." 

"  Coward !  "  The  word  rankled  in  Blair's  breast.  It 
stopped  his  thought  like  a  clot  of  blood  in  his  brain. 
Breathing  deeply,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  plunged 
ahead.  Then  he  turned  back.  He  held  out  his  hand 
beseechingly.  "  We've  been  old  friends,  Winslow,  and 
we  must  part  friends.  I  may  never  come  back.  You 
can't  tell  what  will  happen." 

Winslow  grasped  his  hand  with  a  speaking  clutch. 
With  head  bent  to  the  ground,  with  long  strides,  Blair 
moved  towards  the  steel-mill.  He  was  in  the  center 
of  a  field  that  groaned  with  terrific  action.  Behind 
him  the  great  vessel  swirled  flame  to  the  sky;  in  front 
of  him,  at  either  side,  came  the  deafening  roar  of  in 
numerable  hammers  beating  on  resisting  machinery. 
He  was  oblivious  of  both ;  he  saw  nothing.  He  heard 
but  the  sorrow  sobbing  in  his  breaking  heart. 

Winslow  sat  quiescent  with  that  tragic  burden  in  his 
arms,  his  eyes  dimmed  with  the  pathos  of  tears  he 
could  not  weep,  watching  Blair  until  the  shadows  of 
the  buildings  hid  him  from  sight. 

"  I  had  to  talk  that  way,  God  forgive  me,"  he 
moaned,  and  his  dying  strength  carried  the  dead  man 
from  the  ground. 

Blair  trudged  over  to  the  plate-mill  and  watched  the 


342  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

work  of  destruction  with  as  much  unconcern  as  if  it 
had  been  a  work  of  construction.  Like  so  many 
hideous  dwarfs  and  deformed  gnomes,  spawn  of  the 
underground,  they  were  still  busied  with  their  un 
earthly  work.  The  fine  apparatus  of  the  testing-room 
was  already  mutilated  beyond  use. 

In  the  plate-mill  itself  the  long  line  of  reheating  fur 
naces  was  reduced  to  a  tangled  heap  of  brick.  A 
crowd  of  the  most  stalwart  was  at  work  pulling  the 
tracks  out  of  the  floor,  dislodging  the  mammoth  charg- 
ing-car  that  traveled  across  them,  dissevering  its 
iron  limbs.  Hammers  were  attempting  to  smash  the 
ponderous  rolls  of  the  plate  machinery.  A  smaller 
division  was  doing  its  uttermost  to  wreck  the  electric 
magnets.  There  were  men  in  the  crowd  who  had 
helped  to  put  the  complicated  mechanism  together  and 
they  were  adept  in  separating  it.  Llewellyn,  the  one- 
armed  engineer,  was  everywhere,  directing,  ordering, 
leaping  from  place  to  place,  climbing  to  perilous 
heights  here,  tearing  along  the  ground  there,  trying 
to  forestall  useless  expenditure  of  energies  every 
where.  When  ruin  had  re?ched  the  extent  of  their 
ruthlessness  and  the  building  was  eviscerated,  the  mob 
poured  out  and  swept  towards  the  steel-mill.  Blair 
followed,  moved  by  a  sense  of  duty. 

"  That's  where  Ignatz  was  killed,"  shouted  Jan, 
pointing  the  spot  out  to  Wanda,  with  a  threatening 
finger. 

"  Avenge  his  death !  Avenge  his  death !  "  she 
shouted. 

The  wreckers  knew  not  to  whose  death  she  referred  ; 
but  it  was  all  one  to  them ;  they  were  there  to  wreak 
vengeance,  and  it  might  as  well  be  for  one  purpose  as 
for  another.  Wanda's  cries  were  inspiring,  and  in 


TO  ARMS  !  343 

jangled   unison,   they   shrieked,    "Vengeance,    venge 
ance  !  " 

The  cry  was  heard  sharp  and  shrill  above  the  peal 
of  cracking  iron  and  bursting  steel.  Back  of  the  con 
verters,  operations  had  already  begun  to  release  the 
trunions  and  hurl  the  monstrous  eggs  on  the  floor. 
One  by  one  they  fell  there — a  prey  to  the  second  on 
slaught  that  hacked  and  hewed  them. 

Divisions  of  the  mob  were  working  with  equal  vigor 
in  dismantling  and  denuding  and  breaking  the  cupola 
and  Spiegel-furnaces.  The  gride  and  reverberation 
were  greater  than  when  the  mills  were  in  full  blast. 
It  was  the  slaughter  of  machinery;  and  the  disjected 
members  of  the  mechanism  lay  heaped  on  the  battle 
field  of  industry.  Every  inch  held  its  muscular  fanat 
ical  soldier,  wielding  blows  with  ax  and  hammer  and 
chisel  and  bar.  No  quarter  was  given,  naught  but  a 
complete  and  merciless  obliteration  would  satisfy  their 
thirst  for  ruin.  They  were  deluded;  but  their  very 
delusion  was  the  martial  music  that  carried  them  on 
and  on. 

A  step  or  two  to  the  west  of  the  steel-mill  stood 
the  engine-house,  the  great  wheels  of  which  turned  the 
converters.  Inside  of  it  was  old  Jackson  the  engi 
neer,  crouching  in  fear  at  the  rage  of  the  mob,  resolved 
to  protect  his  engines  at  the  cost  of  his  life,  if  need 
be.  He  had  been  there  since  the  first  time  those  en 
gines  made  the  wheels  revolve,  and  he  loved  them ;  at 
tached  to  them  as  a  solitary  to  a  faithful  dog.  He 
had  refused  to  go  out  with  the  strikers,  and  he  had 
been  threatened  with  death.  He  listened  to  threat  on 
threat  unmoved.  He  purposed  to  exercise  the  right  of 
a  free  man  and  stay  where  he  chose.  Knowing  what 
fate  awaited  him  if  he  stepped  outside  of  the  mills,  like 


344  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

a  wise  man  he  remained  where  he  was,  within  them. 
He  had  been  making  his  bed  on  a  litter  of  straw  heaped 
between  the  engines.  He  was  ready  to  die  at  his 
post.  He  had  figured  it  all  out  and  arrived  at  this 
conclusion  as  the  net  result  of  his  figuring. 

The  engine-house  was  the  next  logical  move  of  the 
mob.  When  the  knot  of  buildings  was  depleted,  it 
surged  towards  old  Jackson's  retreat.  Suddenly  the 
door  opened;  old  Jackson  appeared,  affrighted  to  a 
pallor.  The  foremost  of  the  serried  ranks  started  as 
if  an  apparition  had  arisen  from  the  ground  to  con 
front  them.  Blair,  who  had  been  standing  near  an 
angle  of  the  steel-mill,  was  startled  into  action  by  the 
unexpected  danger  of  the  moment.  His  sleeping 
activities  were  given  a  filip.  He  took  advantage  of 
the  crowd's  hesitancy  and  sprang  forward  at  Jackson's 
side. 

Astonishment  had  already  lived  its  little  life  and 
they  were  bellowing  now  for  the  life  of  the  "  scab." 
A  swart  son  of  Hungary  sprang  at  the  old  man. 
Blair  threw  him  back.  The  crowd  jammed  forward. 
Some  one  in  the  rear,  loyal  still  to  Blair,  wishing  to 
prevent  murder,  if  he  could,  yelled  out  with  lungs  of 
brass : 

'  To  the  dynamite  stores  !  To  the  dynamite  stores !  " 

The  effect  was  electric.  The  word  dynamite  was 
talismanic.  It  possessed  infinite  powers  for  destruc 
tion  in  a  little  room.  The  pack  turned,  willing  to 
leave  such  small  prey  for  booty  so  inestimable.  Blair 
shoved  the  old  engineer  inside  of  the  building,  and 
knowing  now  that  his  engines  were  safe,  he  made 
good  his  escape. 

The  crowd  whirled  forward  towards  the  store 
houses.  Blair  hastened  in  their  trail,  his  heart  numb. 


TO  ARMS!  345 

When  was  this  havoc  to  end?  After  one  crime  a 
greater  followed  thriftily  on  the  heels  of  the  lesser. 

Unless  some  unforeseen  power,  psychic  or  material, 
prevented  the  seizure  of  the  dynamite,  in  less  than  ten 
minutes  more  the  whole  mill  would  be  scattered  in  the 
air  and  tumbled  to  the  ground  in  unrecognizable 
wreckage. 

Seven  piercing  whistles  blew  from  the  tug,  suc 
ceeded  by  three  quick  blasts.  The  Pinkertons  had  ar 
rived  and  were  turning  inward  on  the  lake  to  land 
on  the  north  end. 

The  army  of  industry  halted  on  its  course.  They 
scented  the  danger.  An  opposing  army  was  on  the 
move.  The  forces  of  capital  were  approaching.  They 
drew  together  in  one  impregnable  mass,  concentrating 
their  force  for  resistance.  A  leader  was  necessary 
now.  They  clamored  for  Blair.  He  placed  himself 
at  their  head.  With  one  accord  they  proclaimed  their 
unswerving  obedience. 

"  To  the  north  end !  "  he  commanded. 

They  followed. 


XXX 

THE  COUNTER-MOVE 

MINUTES  that  had  seemed  like  hours  to  Blair 
were  but  minutes  after  all;  for  no  matter 
how  intense  a  minute  may  be,  only  sixty  sec 
onds  go  to  its  completion ;  and  the  mob  had  been 
within  the  fences  but  a  fraction  over  a  half-hour. 

The  telegraph  operator  had  held  back  the  watch 
man's  message  as  long  as  he  consistently  could  and 
hold  his  job  at  the  same  time.  When  the  telegram 
finally  reached  the  Pinkerton  office  in  Chicago,  the 
manager  was  under  the  jmpression  that  the  danger 
was  grossly  exaggerated.  The  same  warning  of  cir 
cumspect  and  cautious  action  had  been  meted  out  to 
the  detective  agency.  The  manager  pondered  over  the 
affair  a  while,  then  telephoned  to  Marvin  at  his  house. 
Marvin  was  not  at  home,  but  he  was  located,  after 
some  delay,  at  his  club,  where  he  was  finding  relief 
from  the  stress  of  affairs  in  the  stress  of  staggering 
stakes  at  the  poker  table.  He  received  the  news 
calmly  enough. 

"  Let  them  go  on,"  he  remarked  quietly.  "  If  the 
county  is  willing  to  foot  the  bills  I'm  willing  to  let 
the  rabble  have  its  fun." 

However,  he  excused  himself  with,  "  I'm  sorry  to 
leave  the  game,  gentlemen,"  laid  his  cards  down,  face 
to  the  table,  and  held  long  converse  with  the  Pinker- 

346 


THE  COUNTER-MOVE        347 

ton  office  over  the  wire.  In  the  seclusion  of  the  tele 
phone  box  he  let  his  rage  have  full  sway,  and  some  one 
was  roundly  reprimanded  for  a  neglect  of  duty  and 
for  carelessness  in  subserving  the  interests  of  the 
Company. 

Almost  instantaneously  with  the  receipt  of  Marvin's 
positive  instructions,  a  solid  squad  of  Pinkertons,  uni 
formed  in  blue  suits  and  black  slouch-hats  berib- 
boned  with  gold  cord,  set  out  for  the  viaduct  and 
marched  to  the  barge  that  lay  in  waiting  at  its  foot. 
Others,  who  held  themselves  in  readiness,  were 
called  by  telephone,  telegraph  and  messengers.  With 
remarkable  rapidity  a  second  phalanx  was  on  its  way 
to  join  the  first.  It  was  a  miscellaneous  crew,  an  odd 
assortment,  composed  of  ex-policemen  and  ex-soldiers, 
who  were  given  the  preference  in  emergency  calls ; 
able-bodied  clerks  out  of  employment,  medical  and  law 
students  anxious  to  summer  through  the  idle  season — 
men  who  had  smelled  powder  and  liked  the  smell,  men 
who  had  never  smelled  powder  and  never  wished  to, 
men  whom  the  thought  of  the  smell  nauseated  and  who 
trusted  to  luck  that  a  good  wind  would  blow  the  dis 
agreeable  odor  in  another  direction. 

Where  they  were  to  be  sent  had  been  kept  a  mystery 
as  deep  as  the  movement  of  an  army.  Mystery  is  the 
twin  brother  of  fear  and  the  twin  wrought  havoc  with 
its  victims.  Most  of  the  myrmidons  thought  they 
knew  where  they  were  going,  some  knew  it;  many 
suspected  it ;  the  minority  was  in  a  foreboding  dark 
ness.  Almost  without  exception  their  sympathies  were 
with  their  own  class ;  they  loathed  the  idea  of  shooting 
toilers  down  like  dogs — toilers,  who,  like  themselves, 
were  struggling  for  bread.  Still,  they  were  paid,  and 
where  money  talks  conscience  holds  its  tongue. 


348  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

A  tug  and  a  superannuated  barge  were  hi  red  by  the 
Company  for  the  transportation  of  the  Pinkertons. 
The  barge  bore  the  historic  name  of  Abraham  Lin 
coln  ;  and  the  name  was  the  most  imposing  part  of  the 
imposition ;  for  it  was  a  leaky  structure,  slow,  uncer 
tain  and  loosely  jointed.  The  sheriff  had  been  un 
earthed,  and  after  a  long  controversy  he  agreed  to 
deputize  the  men  before  they  started  for  Marvin. 
There  was  no  way  out  of  it  and  he  did  his  duty.  The 
tug  had  scarcely  pulled  the  barge  from  the  shore 
before  the  county  official  hastened  to  telegraph  to 
the  governor  at  the  executive  mansion  in  Spring 
field: 

"  Situation  at  Marvin  very  grave.  Armed  mob  in 
complete  control  of  the  North- Western  mills.  Valuable 
properties  are  being  burned  and  destroyed.  No  means 
at  my  command  to  meet  the  emergency.  Have  just 
deputized  five  hundred  Pinkerton  detectives.  You  are 
urged  to  act  at  once." 

It  was  the  sheriff's  way  of  shifting  responsibility. 
He  was  a  shrewd  man ;  and  he  reversed  the  order  of 
things  by  putting  the  blame  higher  up. 

When  the  despatch  reached  the  governor  it  added 
to  his  serenity  rather  than  disturbed  it.  If  there  was 
trouble  in  the  North-Western  mills,  he  was  heartily 
glad  of  it.  His  fingers  had  been  nipped — nipped  be 
low  the  second  joint — in  Marvin's  juggling  of  stock; 
and  he  had  sworn  a  terrible  oath  that  when  the  time 
came,  and  it  would  come,  he  should  turn  the  tables. 
The  news  was  a  cheerful  adjunct  to  his  celebration  of 
the  Fourth.  Besides,  the  governor  was  a  politician. 
Votes  had  placed  him  in  his  chair,  and  he  had  no  de- 


THE  COUNTER-MOVE        349 

sire  to  be  unseated  by  the  same  process  in  the  fall 
election. 

His  brutal  jaw  dropped  with  a  sardonic  fall,  and  he 
rubbed  his  hands  unctuously  and  laughed  at  the  sher 
iff.  That  was  a  pretty  political  document!  He 
shifted  the  burden  back  on  the  sheriff  where  it  be 
longed,  with  the  terse  message: 

"  Local  authorities  must  exhaust  every  means  at 
their  command  for  the  preservation  of  peace." 

"  That's  short  and  to  the  point,"  remarked  the  exec 
utive  to  his  secretary,  "  and  besides  it  will  tell  the 
sheriff  something  he  never  knew  before.  A  fine  fox, 
that ! " 

The  burden  was  on  the  sheriff  now,  and  he  did  not 
rest  until  he  had  tossed  it  off  with : 

"  Your  telegram  just  received.  I  must  impress  upon 
you  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  The  mob  growing 
more  desperate  every  minute.  Two  men  have  been 
killed.  Ore  boat  has  been  set  on  fire.  Devastation 
continues.  Only  large  military  force  will  enable  me 
to  control  matters." 

The  governor  whistled.  "  He  seems  disposed  to  rob 
me  of  my  holiday."  He  sent  the  ball  back.  His  sec 
ond  telegram  was  as  non-committal  as  his  first : 

"  Your  telegram  would  indicate  that  you  have  made 
no  attempt  to  execute  the  law  to  enforce  order.  I  must 
insist  that  the  county  authorities  exhaust  every  means 
in  their  power  to  preserve  the  peace." 

The  trouble  rested  there  for  the  day;  both  of  the 
politicians  had  documents  in  evidence  to  show  their 


350  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

enthusiasm  for  the  welfare  of  the  county  and  their 
love  for  the  state. 

Meanwhile  the  barge  was  well  on  its  way,  tugged 
swiftly  towards  its  destination.  The  men  were  hud 
dled  in  the  interior  of  the  ark-like  structure,  crowded 
together  like  so  many  cattle,  jammed  so  closely  that 
a  stiff,  upright  position  was  the  only  one  possible.  As 
the  boat  kept  to  the  southward  steadily,  there  could 
be  no  doubt  left  as  to  its  ultimate  destination.  The 
word  was  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  Under  ex 
teriors  of  calm  there  was  a  panic  of  spirit ;  many 
blanched  and  trembled. 

"Ever  seen  service  before?"  asked  a  veteran  of  a 
tyro,  a  senior  medical  student. 

"  No,"  answered  the  tyro. 

"  Well,  you're  going  to  get  a  good  dose  to  start  on, 
Fm  thinking/' 

"  Why  so  ?  "  asked  the  medico,  his  under  lip  trem 
bling  slightly.  He  was  a  tall,  thin  fellow,  without  the 
divergence  of  an  inch  in  his  frame  from  foot  to  chest. 

"  Well,"  opined  the  veteran,  with  a  superior  air. 
"  we're  bound  for  the  rolling-mills  and  those  chaps 
are  strong  as  bulls  and  they  fight  like  tigers." 

"  Sure  we're  going  there?  " 

"  Ain't  no   reasonable   doubt." 

"  Hard  fighters,  you  say  ?  " 

"  Yes,  terrible.  I  had  one  experience  with  them 
five  years  ago  up  in  the  coke  region  of  Pennsylvania." 

"Any  one  killed?" 

"  Any  one  killed  !  I  rather  guess  they  was.  Twelve 
of  the  boys  never  come  back." 

"  T  don't  suppose  there  will  be  anything  like  that 
this  time.  At  least  they  told  me  there  would  be  no 
danger  up  at  the  office.'' 


THE  COUNTER-MOVE        351 

The  veteran  chuckled.  "  Of  course  not.  You  don't 
suppose  they  would  tell  you  that,  do  you  ?  " 

"  Why  not?" 

"  Couldn't  get  anybody  to  go." 

The  student  blenched  for  the  minute;  but  he  was 
a  -brave  fellow  and  he  quickly  gathered  his  scatter 
ing  nerve.  "  Well  I'm  in  for  it  now,  and  I'll  stick  it 
out  the  best  I  can.  Only  they  ought  to  have  let  a  fel 
low  know/' 

"What's  your  line?"  asked  the  other,  irrelevantly. 

"  Oh,  I'm  studying  medicine." 

"  Kind  of  a  quick  change  of  jobs.  You  may  come 
in  handy;  we  may  need  your  services  before  we're 
through.'" 

"  I  hope  you  won't ;  but  I'm  all  here  if  you  want 
me.  I  wish  they  had  given  us  a  little  more  time;  I'd 
liked  to  have  run  over  to  the  girl  to  say  good-by." 

"  Married  ?  ''  asked  the  interlocutor,  probing  for  in 
formation. 

"  No,  only  engaged ;  expect  to  marry  in  the  fall  if 
things  turn  out  all  right." 

"  Well,  I  can  let  the  girl  know  if  anything  happens," 
said  the  veteran,  half  commiseratingly,  growing  softer 
as  rough  men  are  apt  to  do  when  there  is  a  girl  in  the 
case. 

"  Thanks,"  replied  the  student  curtly.  There  was 
a  clutch  at  his  heart ;  he  hated  to  take  chances  where 
her  happiness  depended  on  a  trembling  balance.  He 
drew  a  pack  of  cigarettes  from  his  pocket  and  light 
ing  one  fell  to  a  dreary  thinking  of  the  girl  he  had  left 
behind. 

"  No  smoking,"  commanded  the  captain  of  the 
Pinkertons  severely  from  the  rear  of  the  craft. 

He  threw  the  cigarette  overboard. 


352  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  barge  came  to  a  standstill  with  a  lurch.  With 
a  scared  expression  the  men  looked  from  one  to  the 
other,  wondering  if  the  enemy  could  have  started  an 
unpremeditated  attack  in  the  middle  of  the  waters. 

"  Anything  happened  ?  What's  up  ?  "  they  asked 
fearfully. 

"  Just  a  slackened  rope,"  volunteered  some  one  who 
knew. 

The  tug  halted  until  the  slack  was  drawn  in ;  then 
both  boats  hastened  southward  over  the  lake  again. 
The  waters  were  still,  mirror  like,  slightly  ruffled  here 
and  there  as  if  the  damp  breath  of  the  barely  percep 
tible  wind  had  moistened  its  surface.  The  blue  sky 
seemed  a  lake  overhead,  the  blue  lake  seemed  a  sky 
below.  The  mills  hove  in  sight,  the  black  rows  of 
chimneys  drawn  ominously  against  the  cerulean  sky. 
Then  a  deafening  roar  of  voices  spread  across  the  still 
ness  of  the  waters. 


XXXI 
THE  BATTLE 

THE  captain  of  the  Pinkertons  saw  the  crowd 
gathered  on  the  bank  with  a  horror  too  great 
for  concealment.  He  knew  what  it  augured. 
He  often  had  led  bands  of  mercenaries  against 
mobs  like  that,  formed  of  unpaid  soldiers  who  fought 
like  soldiers  to  whom  pay  is  no  consideration. 

Panic  seized  the  barge.  The  Pinkertons  were  for 
going  back,  the  captain  assuming  a  composure  which 
he  had  not,  and  the  veterans  did  their  best  to  allay 
the  timorousness  of  the  novices.  Return  was  be 
yond  the  pale  of  question.  The  agency  had  a  repu 
tation  to  sustain ;  and  if  they  retreated,  sustenance 
would  be  withdrawn  from  the  reputation  to  the  end 
of  time.  Besides,  the  Company  would  not  pay  for 
services  merely  rendered  in  the  bill. 

The  Winchesters  were  taken  from  the  boxes  and 
distributed.  The  tyros  beheld  the  weapons  with  dread 
as  great  as  if  they  were  to  be  discharged  against 
themselves. 

As  the  craft  drew  near  enough  to  the  shore  to  enable 
its  occupants  to  discern  individual  faces  in  the  mob, 
knees  quaked  and  hearts  fluttered  like  flags  in  a  strong 
wind.  Those  faces  were  so  desperately  grim  and  they 
were  set  on  such  muscular  bodies.  Moreover,  rifle-bar 
rels  bristled  in  the  crowd,  protruding  like  spikes  from 
23  353 


354  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

a  fence.  If  they  landed  it  would  be  at  the  cost  of  some 
lives ;  and  whose  life,  each  asked  himself,  was  to  pay 
the  cost?  The  question  was  answered  with  sinking 
hearts.  The  direful  moment  arrived.  The  tug  ful 
filled  its  contract,  landed  the  barge  and  steamed  away. 
A  gang-plank  was  thrown  out,  and  the  Pinkertons  de 
bouched,  the  captain  at  the  head. 

Blair  ran  forward  waving  his  long  arms.  "  Go 
back !  go  back !  "  he  shouted.  "  You  will  be  shot  down 
like  dogs  if  you  land !  " 

One  of  the  strikers  spurted  forward,  pushed  ahead 
of  Blair  and  threw  himself  prone  on  the  gang-plank, 
clutching  the  boards  firmly  with  his  left  arm ;  in  his 
right  hand  he  held  a  cocked  revolver.  If  the  captain 
of  the  Pinkertons  moved  it  would  be  over  his  body ; 
and  if  he  moved  one  step  on  his  body  he  would  move 
no  more. 

"  Forward,  men,"  commanded  the  intrepid  captain, 
giving  precept  the  force  of  example. 

Those  were  the  last  words  he  uttered  and  the  last 
step  he  took ;  he  fell  from  the  gang-plank  into  the  blue 
waters  of  the  lake. 

Blair  was  stunned.  He  had  come  to  prevent  mur 
der  and  his  presence  acted  as  an  aggravating  cause. 
His  feet  held  him  as  if  they  had  been  roots  cleaving 
into  the  ground.  The  blood  roared  in  his  ears. 

''Take  aim.  Fire!"  commanded  the  lieutenant  of 
the  Pinkertons,  who  had  assumed  the  dead  captain's 
place.  The  rifles  were  stocked  against  shoulders  and 
the  bullets  leaped  from  the  steel  jaws. 

Volley  was  answered  with  volley.  The  strikers  fired 
with  telling  effect.  The  battle  had  changed  from  ma 
chinery  as  an  adversary  to  man  ;  and  the  soldiers  of 
industry  were  equally  determined,  equally  merciless. 


THE  BATTLE  355 

The  smoke  cleared.  The  hot  July  air  groaned  with 
the  moans  of  the  dying.  Blair  had  heard  the  ping  of 
bullets  so  close  to  his  body  and  face  that  he  half  ex 
pected  to  see  the  blood  pour  from  his  chest  or  feel  the 
warm  stream  on  his  cheek. 

At  the  report  of  the  first  rifle  shot,  Michael  and  Mrs. 
Brodski  left  the  exhumed  bodies  of  the  children,  and 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  strikers.  Both  mother  and  son 
were  frenetic  with  the  desire  to  wreak  vengeance.  To 
them  the  caving  in  of  the  ore  pile  was  a  cruel  con 
spiracy  of  capital,  not  the  purely  accidental  movement 
of  an  inanimate  body.  Capital  had  slaughtered  the 
flesh  of  their  flesh,  the  blood  of  their  blood — woe  to 
capital  and  its  agents ! 

Both  sides  had  retreated  to  care  for  their  wounded 
and  dying,  the  Pinkertons  to  the  shelter  of  their 
barge ;  the  strikers  to  the  barricades  they  had  built  of 
scrap,  slag,  ingots,  and  timber.  Seven  of  the  depu 
ties  would  shoulder  gun  or  weapon  no  more.  The 
young  medical  student  was  the  second  to  fall;  he  lay 
on  the  bottom  of  the  barge,  his  blue  eyes  glaucous 
now. 

Death  had  thinned  the  columns  of  the  militant  steel- 
workers  by  five.  A  bullet  stopped  the  beating  of 
Wanda's  violent  heart  and  quenched  her  consuming 
thirst  for  revenge.  The  mother  was  stanching  the 
flow  of  blood  with  bandages  made  of  her  torn  apron 
and  dress,  shrieking  like  a  wildcat  the  while.  Jan 
and  Paul  and  Michael  stood  there  to  all  appearances 
unmoved,  impassive,  tearless,  life's  color  vanished 
from  their  cheeks,  terrorized  into  silence  by  the  calam 
ity. 

In  the  lull  of  battle  the  strikers  bore  the  dead  away. 
For  a  half-hour  a  desultory  firing  was  kept  up  on  both 


356  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

sides.  The  furibund,  scornful  of  the  aim  of  the  myr 
midons,  exposed  their  bodies  and  stalked  out  from  the 
protection  of  the  rude  barricades ;  two  of  them  paid 
for  their  bravado  with  their  lives.  Those  deaths  were 
avenged  by  well-aimed  bullets  which  went  shrieking 
through  the  small  windows  of  the  barge  to  find  their 
journey  obstructed  by  unfortunate  deputies. 

The  July  sun  still  beat  down  on  the  wood  roof,  rag 
ing  there  like  a  fire,  heating  the  already  stifling  interior 
as  with  a  furnace.  The  barge  was  a  charnel-house. 
A  medical  student,  taking  the  place  of  his  dead  broth 
er,  was  bravely  attending  the  injured.  The  suffering 
of  the  strong  was  more  than  Spartan  could  have  en 
dured.  Starving  lungs  panted  for  oxygen. 

A  half-hour  dragged  on  and  brought  no  sign  of  re 
lief  from  any  quarter.  Escape  on  shore  was  to  be  had 
only  through  the  gateway  of  death,  perhaps  through 
a  way  that  was  worse.  They  huddled  together  like 
cattle,  each  cowed  and  terrorized  by  the  look  in  his 
neighbor's  eyes. 

Many  were  about  to  throw  themselves  overboard 
and  cheat  death  of  its  sting.  The  captain  threatened 
to  shoot  the  first  man  who  made  the  craven  attempt. 
Two  handsaws  found  on  the  boat — a  God-sent  treas 
ure-trove — were  set  busily  to  work  cutting  a  series  of 
loopholes  in  the  sides  of  the  barge.  It  increased  the 
danger  from  the  bullets  but  it  lessened  the  chances  of 
slow  suffocation.  Every  second  brought  showers  of 
slag  hurling  against  the  side  of  the  boat,  threatening 
to  wreck  its  flimsy  frame. 

Half  after  three  dragged  its  slow  step  to  four,  and 
yet  there  came  no  signal  from  land  or  lake  that  relief 
was  on  the  way:  in  front  of  them  still  the  menacing 
mob ;  back  of  them  the  open  hospitable  waters  of  the 


THE  BATTLE  357 

lake,  pitilessly  shut  for  their  escape;  around  them  a 
sweltering  atmosphere,  and  above  them  the  fusillade 
of  a  sun  that  seemed  to  collude  with  the  enemy. 

The  opposing  forces  had  every  advantage.  Position 
favored  them.  The  ground  they  occupied  was  a  fort 
in  itself.  Here  the  Company,  exercising  its  riparian 
rights  to  the  extreme,  had  filled  in  acres  and  acres  of 
land  by  the  dumping  of  tons  of  refuse  and  slag  from 
the  mills.  The  ground  thus  made  rose  fifteen  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  lake,  twenty  in  parts.  If  the 
Pinkertons  marched  from  their  weak  stronghold  they 
would  have  to  climb  an  embankment.  The  filling  was 
unequal  and  without  level,  here  and  there  crests  and 
mounds  protruded  roughly ;  here  and  there  deep  ridges 
offered  natural  fortresses.  The  strikers  continued  to 
expose  their  bodies  recklessly  that  they  might  fortify 
their  natural  advantage  with  their  crude,  extempore 
art,  until  their  position  had  become  well-nigh  impreg 
nable. 

A  handkerchief  tied  to  a  pole  was  suddenly  hung 
out  from  the  loopholes  of  the  barge.  It  was  the 
flag  of  surrender.  In  another  moment  the  handker 
chief  was  riddled  with  bullets.  Blair,  visioning  the 
suffering  that  tried  the  souls  of  the  victims  on  the  boat, 
passed,  at  the  constant  danger  of  his  life,  from  mound 
to  mound,  from  place  to  place,  and  entreated  the  men 
to  show  mercy.  They  had  had  more  than  ample  re 
venge  ;  they  had  conquered  easily ;  to  push  the  results 
of  victory  to  cruelty  would  redound  to  the  ultimate 
defeat  of  their  cause.  They  cursed  him  for  his  inter 
ference;  insulted  him  with  ribald  oaths.  Mrs.  Brod- 
ski  spat  full  at  his  face,  and  would  have  sprung  at  his 
throat  did  not  the  strong  arms  of  Michael  and  Paul 
restrain  her.  His  supremacy  was  lost  again ;  madness 


358 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


was  deaf  to  obedience.  His  soldiery  was  a  ruthless 
mob ;  every  man  his  own  commander. 

Two  tracks  took  an  uneven  and  sagged  path  across 
the  slag  dump ;  over  them  the  engines  were  wont  to 
run,  pulling  car  loads  of  slag  and  "  skulls  ''  of  iron 
from  the  ladles  up  to  the  yawning  mouth  of  the  great 
lake.  The  ill-starred  barge  had  chanced  to  land  at 
the  foot  of  this  track,  just  where  the  filling  left  off. 
Jan  Brodski  conceived  an  ingeniously  horrible  idea. 
The  conception  was  welcomed  with  enthusiastic  greet 
ing,  and  they  set  about  to  execute  it  with  alacrity.  A 
flat-bottomed  car  was  filled  with  barrels  of  oil.  When 
the  car  reached  the  turning  point  of  the  declivity  the 
oil  was  ignited  and  sent  whirling  down  the  bending 
track.  Mrs.  Brodski  was  the  last  to  release  her  hold. 
Shoving  with  her  fat  shoulders,  she  was  all  but  carried 
down  the  declivity  in  the  precipitous  rush  of  the  cargo. 

Dumfounded,  their  boiling  blood  freezing  now  from 
chill  terror,  the  Pinkertons  read  their  doom.  They 
were  to  be  cremated  alive !  Their  enemies  \vere  not 
human  beings;  they  were  devils!  Three  men  jumped 
overboard,  preferring  drowning  to  incineration.  The 
brave  new  captain's  pistol  restrained  the  others.  The 
panic  was  frightful.  The  car  came  rolling  nearer  and 
nearer,  bearing  its  burden  of  fire  for  the  conflagration 
of  human  flesh.  The  deputies  were  numb ;  they  had 
reached  the  limit  of  endurance  where  further  suffering 
is  impossible  to  the  nerves  of  feeling.  Suddenly  the 
car  came  to  a  halt ;  its  wheels  were  imbedded  in  the  soft 
sand  of  the  shore  and  it  could  move  no  farther. 

The  tortured  Pinkertons  sent  up  a  praver  of  thank 
fulness  to  the  god  of  good  chance.  But  the  prayer 
was  of  short  duration ;  for  one  danger  was  scarcely 
evaded  before  another  arose.  The  flames  swirled  and 


THE  BATTLE  359 

stretched  towards  the  barge,  shooting  and  darting  a 
thousand  tongues  at  its  roof  and  sides.  The  air  drew 
in  the  thick,  nauseating  odors  of  the  oil  until  it  was 
saturated  to  dampness  with  an  oleaginous  stench. 
Gasping  lungs  drew  in  scorching  nourishment.  Man 
after  man  fell  to  the  floor  in  a  swoon. 

The  roof  was  on  fire !  As  through  prairie  grass  a 
thin  cingle  of  gold  was  creeping  an  ominous  way. 
Two  of  the  bravest  climbed  out  on  the  top  of  the  barge, 
buckets  in  hand,  to  pluck  out  the  girdle  of  flame  that 
would  widen  and  widen  until  it  clasped  all  of  them  in 
its  embrace.  Luckily  for  these  two  the  common  dan 
ger  was  their  particular  protection ;  the  fire  bursting 
from  the  oil-freighted  car  held  up  an  intervening  veil, 
and  the  bullets  that  whirled  through  the  flames  fell  at 
random,  far  from  their  marks.  The  roof  was  safe ;  the 
men  descended. 

Nature,  more  merciful  than  man,  veered  its  winds ; 
the  flames  were  swept  landward  by  the  besom  of  a 
strong  and  steady  breeze.  Life  opened  the  closed 
valves  of  their  veins  once  more.  Out  of  the  jaws  of 
death  and  into  the  yawning  mouth  of  cineration 
again!  The  eyes  of  the  lookers-out  on  the  watch  let 
trembling  lids  hide  the  sight.  Look !  From  the  north 
and  the  south,  two  oil-drenched  rafts  were  creep 
ing  slowly,  surely  towards  the  barge,  propelled  by 
two  skiffs ;  in  one  of  them  sat  Jan  Brodski,  in  the 
other  Paul  and  his  mother,  tugging  at  the  oars  like 
mad. 

The  captain  gave  the  word  of  command ;  the  men 
arose,  Winchesters  leaning  on  their  shoulders.  They 
would  not  surrender  their  lives ;  they  would  sell  them 
dearly,  at  a  valuation  of  their  own  high  appraisement. 
Death  by  lead  rather  than  death  by  fire,  ten  thousand 


360          BY   BREAD  ALONE 

times !  Rather  enter  the  throat  of  death  struggling 
than  wait  unresisting  for  its  mouth  to  swallow. 

Father  Kozma,  the  Polish  priest,  attended  by  his 
acolyte,  garmented  in  sacerdotal  robes  and  hat,  holding 
a  silver  crucifix  aloft,  with  the  solemnity  of  a  slow 
and  measured  step,  marched  over  the  ground  and  hil 
locks  of  slag,  swaying  his  argentine  symbol  of  divinity 
from  right  to  left. 

4<  In  the  name  of  Christ  and  the  Church,  under  the 
ban  of  excommunication,  I  bid  you  disperse,"  he  cried. 
His  voice  was  deep  and  resonant  and  carried  far 
through  the  stilly  air. 

All  heard  it;  some  terrified ;  some  angered ;  most  of 
them  on  the  line  that  verged  between  obedience  to  the 
church,  instilled  by  centuries  of  submission,  and  a  sud 
den  insurrection  against  its  privileged  mediation. 
Father  Kozma  had  fulminated  against  the  strike  since 
the  beginning  and  he  had  exerted  all  his  power  to  in 
fluence  his  parishioners  into  accepting  the  terms  of  the 
Company ;  but  the  rumor  that  the  Company  was  enrich 
ing  the  coffers  of  the  church,  annulled  his  authority. 
Priestly  interference  was  resented ;  even  the  holy  wa 
ter,  as  La  Vette  had  put  it,  was  taken  with  a  grain  of 
salt. 

A  line  of  Pinkertons  had  already  marched  out  on 
the  narrow  rim  of  deck  that  ran  around  the  barge.  A 
rifle  was  raised.  "  Don't  shoot,"  bawled  the  captain, 
exultingly,  pulling  it  down,  "  it's  a  priest ;  it's  a  priest." 

Blair  stalked  forward,  the  servant  of  an  uncontrol 
lable  passion.  The  blood  beat  at  his  brain  and  temples 
as  if  it  would  break  through  the  barriers  of  flesh  and 
skull  alike.  The  taste  of  it  was  in  his  mouth.  His 
sight  was  dimmed  by  the  sanguinary  surge  of  his  fu 
ror.  He  forgot  all  that  had  happened  through  those 


THE  BATTLE  361 

few  long  hours ;  he  forgot  all  that  might  follow,  the 
murder  on  murder  that  the  eye  of  night  might  still 
witness.  He  was  unmindful  of  the  priest's  mission  of 
peace,  of  the  attempt  of  the  representative  of  divinity 
to  conquer  the  passions  which  had  laughed  his  own 
mere  human  power  to  a  flight. 

He  saw  only  the  priest  and  the  cross;  the  same 
priest  who  had  driven  him  from  the  home  of  the  Brocl- 
skis  and  fought  his  socialistic  creed  tooth  and  nail, 
and  all  Blair's  long  thoughts  on  the  exploitation  of 
the  people  by  the  churches,  on  the  churches  as  the 
sanctuary  for  the  modern  gilded  outlaw,  and  more 
maddening  than  any  of  these,  the  subsidy  paid  by  the 
Company  to  the  Church  to  purchase  its  connivance, 
rushed  in  one  whirl  through  his  super-excited  brain. 
It  was  the  priest  and  the  cross  arrayed  with  crushing 
capitalism  against  labor  warring  for  manumission. 

He  dashed  forward.  The  blue  vein  that  ran  through 
the  center  of  his  high  forehead  empurpled ;  he  snatched 
the  crucifix  from  the  startled  priest,  hurled  it  disdain 
fully  on  the  ground  and  stamped  on  the  crucified 
Christ  with  his  heavy  foot. 

In  palpitating  horror  the  Catholic  strikers  looked  on 
for  a  moment.  Then  they  cheered.  The  authority  of 
the  priest  was  gone. 

A  Pinkerton  aimed  at  Blair's  huge  frame — a  mark 
not  easily  missed — and  fired.  Blair  fell  prone. 

With  a  howl  and  a  roar  the  steel  men  left  the  pro 
tection  of  their  sheltering  fortifications  and  rushed, 
heedless  of  death,  towards  the  barge.  Fusillade  was 
answered  with  fusillade. 

Sharp  whistles  blew  from  the  Emma  Dean,  the  pa 
trolling  tug  hired  by  the  strikers.  "  More  Pinkertons 
on  the  way,"  read  the  signal.  Let  these  be  slaughtered 


362  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

before  the  reinforcements  arrive ;  then  woe  to  the  rein 
forcements  ! 

The  deputies  were  completely  surrounded ;  in  front 
the  men ;  on  either  side  the  oil  rafts  burning,  blazing 
lambently,  drawing  nearer  and  nearer. 

A  tug  hove  in  sight,  turning  shoreward  as  fast  as 
steam  could  send  it  on  its  way. 

"  Get  inside,"  commanded  the  captain  of  the  Pink- 
ertons,  "  we're  out  of  this  death-trap  at  last." 

Thick  tow-lines  were  fastened  to  the  barge.  The 
flaming  rafts  beat  against  the  tug  and  struck  against 
the  barge  squarely,  as  two  lines  were  thrown  out  to 
unite  the  two.  The  fire  spread ;  the  stern  of  the  barge 
was  already  ablaze,  a  spreading  carpet  of  flame  was 
sweeping  across  the  bow  of  the  rescuing  tug. 

One  bell  sounded ;  the  quick-witted  commander 
pulled  his  sturdy  craft  out  on  the  sheltering  path  of 
the  waters.  On  the  bosom  of  the  lake  the  flames  were 
quickly  quenched.  The  Pinkertons  were  saved  at  last. 


XXXII 

THE  MILITIA 

NOW  that  the  danger  was  over  and  personal  safe 
ty  assured,  now  that  the  priest  had  paved  the 
way  by  his  heroism,  McNaughton,  Bach, 
whose  prostration  was  a  ruse,  and  the  other  mem 
bers  of  the  Advisory  Committee  reappeared  on  the 
ground  of  battle.  The  representatives  of  religion 
and  labor  joined  forces  to  quell  the  riot  and  disperse 
the  rioters.  The  heat,  the  rapid  approach  of  evening, 
the  reaction  of  tired  bodies  and  overwrought  nerves, 
favored  the  orators,  the  strikers  broke  rank  and  grad 
ually  betook  themselves  homeward. 

When  the  crowd  separated,  the  sheriff  hove  in  sight 
timidly.  He  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  the 
Advisory  Committee  and  was  escorted  through  the 
mills.  Immediately  he  made  a  lengthy  telegraphic  re 
port  to  the  governor,  detailing  the  number  killed  and 
the  havoc  wrought. 

The  affair  was  evidently  serious  and  the  governor 
considered  it  in  a  less  jovial  light.  Marvin  had  been 
punished  enough ;  and  tlr's  kind  of  retaliation  was  a 
two-edged  sword  which,  the  governor  feared,  if  he 
held  it  too  long,  might  cut  into  his  own  hands.  He 
resolved,  however,  to  sleep  over  the  matter  and  take 
his  pillow  into  consultation — it  had  always  been  his  best 
adviser. 

363 


364  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  morning  papers  proved  conclusively  that  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  temporize  longer,  to  consult 
his  best  adviser  a  second  night.  Scare-heads  pro 
claimed  the  reign  of  anarchy,  Briareus-handed,  that 
would  clutch  the  entire  state  of  Illinois  in  its  grasp 
unless  the  monster  were  ?t  once  decapitated.  The 
sheriff  was  excoriated ;  the  governor  was  assailed ;  the 
strikers  were  denounced;  the  Company  was  attacked 
for  landing  Pinkerton  detectives — an  unwarranted 
proceeding,  an  assumption  of  military  and  legal  au 
thority  that  might  lead  to  dangerous  consequences  if 
pushed  to  its  logical  absurdity.  Between  the  organs 
of  the  two  parties,  Democratic  and  Republican,  no  one 
escaped  a  scathing.  Again  the  tariff  and  the  wage 
question  were  the  objects  of  fierce  editorial  comment. 
The  political  ball  was  set  rolling  again,  more  swift 
ly,  with  more  vehement  force,  than  before. 

The  chief  magistrate  of  the  state  scarcely  sat  down 
to  his  breakfast  before  telegrams  had  been  sent  to  sum 
mon  two  regiments  of  militia  to  the  seat  of  the  trouble ; 
and  before  he  had  finished  his  breakfast  three  mem 
bers  of  the  Advisory  Committee,  Bach  and  McNaugh- 
ton  and  another,  were  on  hand  (they  had  left  Marvin 
the  night  before  for  Springfield)  to  plead  that  no 
troops  be  sent.  The  danger  was  over  now,  they  ar 
gued  ;  the  appearance  of  the  soldiers  would  but  incite 
the  men  to  a  renewed  outbreak ;  they  would  hold  them 
selves  responsible  in  person  for  any  further  damage  to 
life  or  property.  All  they  desired  was  to  keep  non 
union  men  out  of  Marvin  and  the  mill.  Surely  his  ex 
cellency  was  a  friend  of  the  unions?  They  would  bind 
themselves  in  honor  to  allow  the  sheriff  and  his  posse 
to  take  peaceful  possession  of  the  mills.  Finally,  Mc- 
Naughton,  who  was  not  without  some,  experience  in 


THE  MILITIA  365 

politics,  touched  on  the  question  of  votes,  by  innuendo 
at  first,  more  openly  as  he  proceeded. 

The  question  was  involved;  more  involved  than  the 
vacillating  governor  had  at  first  supposed,  and  he 
shook  his  heavy  gubernatorial  head  and  listened  to  the 
various  points  of  the  discussion  impatiently,  save  the 
argument  concerning  the  votes,  which  touched  his  cal 
lous  political  heart. 

After  all,  there  was  some  truth  in  what  the  men  had 
said.  He  should  have  heard  both  sides  of  the  contro 
versy  before  acting.  He  was  too  quick  to  order  out 
the  state  infantry.  The  newspapers  were  bound  to 
pour  forth  their  vituperation  anyway;  they  were  ever 
ready  to  vent  censorious  criticism  on  something,  and  it 
might  as  well  be  one  thing  as  another.  Let  the  Dem 
ocratic  journals  screech  and  the  Republican  journals 
howl,  he  would  pay  attention  to  neither.  He  stood  for 
the  rights  of  the  people! 

He  had  already  thrown  a  sop  to  the  finical  law-and- 
order  element  by  ordering  the  troops  out ;  he  would 
throw  a  larger  sop  to  the  larger  labor  element  by  or 
dering  the  troops  in  again.  And  Marvin  ?  On  second 
consideration  he  was  not  even  with  Marvin  yet ;  he 
had  not  had  an  eye  for  an  eye ;  the  money  lost  in  his 
stock-rigging  deal  had  been  paid  back  by  no  means. 
It  did  his  tolerant  and  forgiving  soul  good  to  read  the 
scathing  of  the  president  of  the  Company  in  the  press. 
It  was  too  gentle,  too  lamb-like  by  half ;  as  time  went 
on,  as  the  trouble  waxed,  the  strictures  would  grow 
severer.  Let  it  wax  then !  He  dismissed  his  callers 
rather  abruptly  with: 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  you  go  back  and  keep  order  and 
I'll  keep  the  militia  away ;  but  the  moment  you  break 
your  promise  the  troops  will  be  on  hand.  Order  must 


366 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


be  preserved  at  any  cost.  The  law  of  the  state  is  sov 
ereign  and  it  must  not  be  violated.'' 

Before  the  sun  rose  over  Marvin  that  morning  the 
town  was  astir  with  bellicose  activity.  It  had  been  re 
ported  that  the  state  regiments  would  force  an  en 
trance  into  the  town  and  the  mills,  and  the  men  wished 
to  be  ready  to  oppose  that  entrance.  Picket  lines  were 
redoubled.  Guards  were  stationed  in  every  odd  nook 
and  corner.  The  streets  were  patrolled  by  armed  men 
displaying  their  rifles  in  no  empty  spirit  of  bravado.  A 
grim  resolution,  a  desperation,  inexorable  as  death, 
ruled  the  multitude. 

A  gatling  gun — an  obsolete  mechanism  rusty  from 
long  disuse — found  its  way  mysteriously  in  their 
ranks ;  and  the  undrilled  soldiery,  unable  to  find  the 
coign  of  greatest  vantage  for  its  final  resting  place, 
dragged  it  from  corner  to  corner.  Long  pipes,  stopped 
at  both  ends,  filled  with  dynamite,  were  swung  threat 
eningly,  with  ghastly  grins  on  the  faces  of  their  wield- 
ers. 

The  foreign  quarters  were  strewn  with  anarchistic 
"  dodgers,"  wherein  were  plainly  printed  the  autono- 
mistic  doctrines  and  the  most  inexpensive  methods  for 
the  manufacture  of  dangerous  explosives  and  chemi 
cals.  In  four  languages  was  the  carmine  screed  set 
down,  that  none  might  run  from  its  reading.  Before 
daylight  shuddered  over  the  inflammatory  print,  the 
tracts  disappeared  as  if  they  had  been  swept  away  by 
the  wind,  to  find  safe  lodging  in  pockets  of  skirts  and 
coats. 

The  burial  of  the  unfortunates  who  had  been  killed 
by  the  bullets  of  the  Pinkertons  was  to  take  place  be 
fore  noon  ;  and  the  black  crapes,  fluttering  in  the  door 
ways,  and  the  dilapidated  hearses  made  the  solemnity 


THE  MILITIA  367 

of  the  morning  funereal.  The  hearts  of  the  mourners 
were  heavy  with  hatred  for  the  slayers  rather  than 
with  commiseration  for  the  slain. 

Mass  was  celebrated  for  the  dead  and  the  churches 
were  crowded  to  the  doors ;  those  not  able  to  find  place 
within  blocked  the  streets  without.  Jan,  Michael  and 
Paul  obdurately  refused  the  tearful  prayer  of  their 
mother  to  attend  the  church  services  for  their  deceased 
brother  and  sisters.  After  mass,  Father  Kozma  ex 
horted  his  hearers  to  keep  the  peace,  to  obey  the  law 
and  to  take  warning1  from  the  fate  of  those  whose 
deaths  they  were  lamenting.  A  hiss,  sibilant  and  low, 
protested  against  the  advice.  It  was  a  sacrilege  per 
petrated  in  the  sanctum  of  all  that  was  holy,  an  open 
revolt  against  priestly  power  that  was  without  prece 
dent  in  the  life  of  the  priest ;  and  Father  Kozma  heard 
the  warning  with  horror.  He  dared  not  combat  the 
spirit  lest  its  wrath  increase  and  the  sacrilegious  evis 
cerate  the  church  as  they  had  the  mills ;  wisely  he  ig 
nored  it,  pretending  not  to  hear. 

The  men  unhitched  the  horses  and  dragged  the 
hearses  to  the  cemetery,  unmindful  of  the  hot  sun. 
A  band  went  to  the  fore  and  the  mourners  marched 
to  inspiriting  strains.  Crowds  stood  hatless  while  they 
passed,  and  when  they  moved  away  threats  of  venge 
ance  arose  louder  than  the  music.  Even  the  funeral 
sable  took  on  the  hue  of  scarlet. 

The  obsequies  were  but  ended  when  the  sheriff  en 
tered  Marvin  with  a  force  of  one  hundred  hastily  gath 
ered  aides.  The  force  of  public  opinion  made  the  sher 
iff's  political  aspirations  succumb  to  its  superior  au 
thority.  The  supplicating  vigilance  of  Winslow  and 
three  other  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee  was 
set  at  naught.  The  sheriff  and  his  minions  were  driven 


368  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

forth  ignominiously,  barely  escaping  with  their  lives, 
two  wounded  by  stones  hurled  by  the  mob.  Be 
tween  the  sheriff's  office  and  the  executive  mansion  at 
Springfield  the  wires  were  kept  hot. 

The  posse  comitatus  barely  had  retreated  from  Mar 
vin  before  an  officer  of  the  governor's  staff  set  a  bold 
foot  in  the  town.  He  had  been  commissioned  to  make 
a  thorough  examination  and  render  a  faithful  report 
to  his  chief.  His  excellency  had  only  heard  rumors — 
exaggerated  reports  garbled  by  a  sensational  press — 
and  he  wished  facts.  There  was  no  sentiment  about 
the  governor. 

This  officer  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  watchful  pick 
ets  and  they  handled  him  mercilessly.  He  was  taken 
for  a  spy  from  the  Company  and  he  was  almost  beaten 
to  death  before  he  was  given  a  chance  to  prove  his 
identity.  He  telegraphed  a  faithful  report  to  the  gov 
ernor.  The  guardian  of  the  state's  welfare  lost  his 
temper  and  it  was  a  valuable  temper  to  lose — there 
was  so  much  of  it.  He  considered  the  maltreatment  of 
the  member  of  his  staff  as  a  personal  insult ;  it  was  the 
same  as  if  they  had  laid  impious  hands  on  him.  For 
the  assault  on  the  sheriff  and  his  aides,  for  the  killing 
of  the  Pinkertons  and  the  destruction  of  the  Company's 
property,  he  cared  but  little — that  was  their  affair ;  but 
this  was  his  and  it  concerned  him  deeply.  He  ordered 
out  the  militia  now  with  the  same  promptness  with 
which  he  had  delayed  the  order.  He  would  teach  the 
rabble  how  to  insult  the  majesty  of  the  state. 

The  governor's  action  leaked  out  with  the  celerity 
of  water  through  a  hole  in  a  cask.  The  governor  ob 
served  no  care  to  have  his  order  kept  secret.  He 
wished  the  people  to  know  that  they  had  a  man  of  will 
and  force  of  character  at  their  head.  Newspaper  ex- 


THE  MILITIA  369 

tras  spread  the  news.    The  town  of  Marvin  heard  the 
intelligence  with  oaths  of  disapproval. 

The  mills  were  instantly  surrounded  by  men  armed 
to  the  teeth.  The  most  strategic  and  advantageous 
point  in  the  works  was  the  bridge  that  ran  from  the 
offices,  over  the  long  range  of  tracks  and  the  muddle  of 
cars,  to  the  foot  of  the  steel-mill.  The  men  considered 
the  position  impregnable.  Troops  could  not  assemble 
under  it  without  the  removal  of  the  cars,  and  the  armed 
force  on  the  bridge  would  see  to  it  that  the  cars  were 
not  removed. 

The  gatling  gun  was  set  in  the  center  of  the  bridge. 
Supplies  of  ammunition,  gathered  from  many  and  puz 
zling  sources,  were  moved  thither.  The  bridge  bris 
tled  with  muskets  as  with  chevaux-de-frise.  The  strike 
had  now  taken  on  the  aspect  of  war  and  the  strikers 
wished  their  engines  of  warfare  to  be  equal  to  its  im 
portance.  Bombs,  crudely  and  hastily  made  of  pipe 
and  dynamite,  stacked  the  fortress.  Jan  Brodiski  com 
manded  the  forces. 

The  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee  looked  on 
these  preparations  with  quaking  misgivings.  All  of 
them  deprecated  the  measures,  they  pleaded  against 
them — with  equal  results  they  might  as  well  have  im 
portuned  the  wind  to  blow  westward.  The  plan  of  the 
Advisory  Committee  was  different ;  they  wished  to  win 
the  favor  of  the  general  in  command,  not  to  arouse  his 
enmity ;  to  meet  him  as  foes,  with  their  polyglot,  undis 
ciplined  army,  was  clearly  ridiculous. 

Winslow,  McNaughton,  Bach  and  the  others  put 
their  heads  together  and  prepared  speeches  of  welcome 
to  the  troops  of  the  state,  declaring  the  eagerness  of 
the  workers  of  Marvin  to  cooperate  with  the  militia 
in  the  preservation  of  order ;  tendering  the  services  of 
24 


370  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  Amalgamated  Association  in  the  cause  of  peace. 
Four  bands  were  hired  to  escort  the  troops  in  town. 

At  half  after  four  in  the  afternoon  the  militia  came, 
and  it  came  with  such  consummate  tactics  that  even 
those  on  the  lookout  for  a  surprise  were  the  most  sur 
prised  of  all ;  they  had  scarcely  time  to  exclaim  "  The 
soldiers !  the  soldiers !  "  and  disappear  before  a  wall  of 
advancing1  bayonets. 

The  milit:a  was  expected  to  arrive  from  the  north 
over  the  rails  of  the  Illinois  Central ;  instead  it  came  in 
from  the  west  on  the  Pennsylvania  road ;  at  least  such 
was  the  maneuver  of  one  division  of  the  First  Regi 
ment  ;  a  second  division  of  the  same  regiment  arrived 
a  few  minutes  later  on  a  special  train  of  the  Illinois 
Central,  and  it  debouched  in  time  to  strengthen  the 
forces  of  their  comrades,  on  the  shortest  notice,  should 
that  be  necessary.  One  division  of  the  Second  Regi 
ment  was  landed  on  the  north  shore  of  the  mills  by 
boat ;  the  other  division  made  a  sharp  detour  to  the 
south,  and  marched,  in  a  line  long  drawn  out,  by  way 
of  Steel  river. 

The  whole  town  was  in  the  hollow  of  the  general's 
hand.  The  ends  had  but  to  draw  closer  and  closer 
together  and  the  resisting  mob  in  the  center  were  but 
a  rat  in  a  steel  trap. 

The  main  encampment  was  to  be  in  the  wide  stretch 
of  prairie  near  the  south  end  of  the  mills,  in  easy  range 
of  any  possible  point  of  important  action.  The  tents 
had  their  white  cloth  flapping  in  the  wind  as  quickly 
and  easily  as  the  wind  flapped  the  cloth  of  the  tents. 

The  general  was  informed  that  "  a  hand  of  insurrec 
tionists  "  occupied  the  bridge  inside  of  the  plant.  "  Let 
them  there  for  the  time  being,"  he  commented,  with  a 
smile,  "  we'll  get  them  when  we  want  them." 


THE  MILITIA  371 

The  Advisory  Committee  sought  the  general  with 
conciliatory  speeches,  smoothly  prepared.  General 
Crawford  was  an  aristocratic  man,  of  a  military  car 
riage  ;  his  aristocracy  was  enforced  by  snow-white  hair, 
mustache  and  imperial ;  and,  although  his  soldierly 
bearing  may  have  been  diminished,  his  looks  were  im 
proved  by  a  pair  of  gold-rimmed  glasses,  set  on  a 
Caesarian  nose.  He  had  seen  long  service  in  the  Civil 
War  and  he  bore  the  stamp  of  the  training.  Like  the 
governor,  he  was  totally  without  sentiment ;  he  was 
there  on  duty,  and  to  carry  out  his  duty  he  would  mow 
down  millions  with  as  little  compunction  as  he  would 
have  drummed  an  insubordinate  out  of  camp.  He  was 
stern,  immovable,  inflexible — the  soldier  born. 

When  Winslow,  surrounded  by  the  others  of  the 
committee,  approached,  the  general  was  ringed  by  his 
aides-de-camp. 

Icily  General  Crawford  eyed  them ;  frigidly  he  said, 
"  Well,  gentlemen." 

Winslow  started  on  his  dulciloquy.  With  an  auto 
cratic,  barely  perceptible  sweep  of  the  hand,  the  general 
cut  him  short.  "  That  will  do,  my  friend.  I  don't  know 
the  Amalgamated  Association  and  I  wouldn't  recog 
nize  it  if  I  knew  it.  I  acknowledge  no  authority  other 
than  the  governor  of  Illinois  and  the  sheriff  of  this 
county.  The  people  of  this  town  and  the  men  from 
the  mills  can  cooperate  with  us  best  by  behaving 
themselves.  If  I  need  aid  I  can  send  for  more  troops." 

Winslow,  Bach  and  McNaughton  looked  at  one  an 
other  in  astonishment  and  then  edged  back  as  if  to  be 
take  themselves  away  from  the  freezing  air  generated 
by  an  iceberg.  But  Winslow  plucked  up  his  courage 
and  made  a  second  attempt.  What  the  men  desired 
was  merelv  to  attest  their  cheerful  submission  to  the 


372  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

state  law,  to  show  the  people  of  the  commonwealth 
that  they  would  resist  armed  bandits  like  the  Pinker- 
tons  to  the  death,  but  to  the  law  of  the  state  they  would 
bow  with  childish  humility. 

The  cold  eye-balls  rolled  in  their  frosty  temperature, 
and  the  general  waved  his  white  hand  towards  the  fat 
sheriff,  who  had  returned  to  Marvin  under  the  protec 
tion  of  the  troops.  "  Here  is  the  gentleman  to  whom 
you  should  submit.  He  represents  the  law  of  your 
county." 

"  We've  already  submitted  to  him,"  said  Winslow 
meekly,  knowing  how  sadly  untenable  was  the  asser 
tion. 

"  Yes,"  retorted  the  general,  with  chilly,  even  voice, 
"  by  attacking  his  aides  and  driving  him  from 
town." 

"  That's  so,"  snapped  the  squabby  sheriff,  embold 
ened  by  the  general's  presence. 

Humbly  McNaughton  requested  to  beg  the  privi 
lege  of  leading  the  troops  through  Marvin  with  four 
brass  bands,  hired  for  the  occasion,  to  show  the  work 
ers  and  townspeople  that  the  militia  and  labor  were  in 
brotherly  accord. 

"  Perfectly  ridiculous,"  came  from  the  frigid  zone 
of  military  autocracy.  "  You  might  better  propose  to 
furnish  my  soldiers  with  white  kid  gloves."  He  looked 
at  the  open  face  of  his  watch.  "  We  must  move 
now.  I  will  trouble  you  to  step  out  of  the  line  of  our 
march." 

The  committee  turned  away  with  the  disgust  born 
of  absolute  failure.  "  One  minute,  gentlemen,"  called 
the  icy  voice.  They  turned  back. 

"  Tt  has  just  come  to  my  notice  that  your  men  are 
occupying  the  bridge  of  the  mill  with  gatling  guns  and 


THE  MILITIA  373 

bombs ;  if  you  don't  want  them  mowed  down  like 
wheat,  order  them  off." 

Winslow  started  to  explain  that  the  bridge  had  been 
taken  against  their  earnest  solicitation.  Curtly  the 
general  interrupted  with : 

"If  you  don't  want  them  mowed  down  like  wheat, 
order  them  off." 

Dejected  by  helplessness,  the  members  of  the  com 
mittee  retired,  a  hatred  for  the  general  raging  in  their 
hearts.  The  governor  had  treated  them  cordially,  with 
befitting  consideration ;  but  this  underling  of  a  soldier, 
with  the  disdain  that  he  would  mete  out  to  the  sorriest 
beggar. 

And  the  governor,  a  Janus-faced  politician,  maugre 
his  suavity,  looking  towards  the  capitalist  smilingly 
and  the  laborer  smirkingly,  had  played  into  the  hands 
of  their  oppressors  after  all.  They  were  sold  out! 
Their  cause  was  lost !  In  less  than  two  weeks  the 
mills  would  be  filled  with  "  scabs,"  black  sheep,  black 
legs — the  scum  of  the  earth !  How  resist  now  ?  If 
they  attacked  their  enemies  they  would  be  shot  down 
like  dogs  by  this  white-haired  aristocrat-plutocrat, 
this 

Companies  C  and  D  of  the  First  Regiment  were  at 
once  ordered  out  to  clear  the  nondescript  crowd  away 
from  the  streets  and  the  mill  fences.  The  rest  of  the 
regiment  followed,  evolving:  smaller  groups  of  skir 
mishers  as  ;t  progressed.  The  crowd  gave  wav  sul 
lenly,  unwillingly,  menacingly,  but  it  s;ave  way.  These 
cohorts  of  drilled  troops  marching  like  so  much  ma 
chinery,  at  the  word  of  a  superior's  command, 
were  awe-inspiring  to  the  heterogeneous  mass  of 
strikers. 

Their  courage,  long  gathered,  oozed  at  the  first  prick 


374  BY   BREAD  ALONE 

of  a  bayonet.  Where  were  pistols  and  guns  and  dyna 
mite  bombs  now  ? 

Only  the  women  stood  their  ground,  calling  vile 
names,  shaking  clenched  fists,  stood  it,  though  sharp 
steel  pressed  against  the'r  breasts,  daring  the  soldiers 
to  prod  deeper  and  do  their  worst.  The  militia  were 
loath  to  wound  women,  loath  to  shoot  down  men ; 
like  the  Pinkertons,  their  rank  and  file  were  made  up 
of  clerks,  artisans,  mechanics,  and  their  sympathy  was, 
for  the  most  part,  with  those  against  whom  they  were 
sent.  Still,  the  word  of  command  was  given, — to 
disobey  meant  death  or  a  disgrace  that  was  equally 
bad.  They  marched  on  ;  the  women  gave  way. 

The  failing  courage  of  the  men  gathered  again  ;  the 
action  of  the  women,  of  their  wives  and  sweethearts 
and  daughters,  was  inspiriting,  and  the  dispersed 
columns  assembled,  resolving  to  do  battle  until  es 
caping  blood  left  their  veins  too  impoverished  to  heed 
the  mandates  of  their  wills. 

Tn  compact  lines  the  soldiery  reached  the  mill  fence, 
dragging  a  gatling  gun  with  difficulty  through  the 
miry  ground. 

The  crowd  pushed  and  shoved  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  bayonets,  almost  tripping  the  marching  feet,  taunt 
ing  the  soldiers,  bespatterng  them  with  mud,  reviling 
them  with  coarse  oaths.  And  still  the  militia  marched 
on  with  impassive  faces,  praying  for  but  one  thing, 
hoping  for  but  one  thing,  that  they  might  not  be  called 
upon  to  shoot  down  these  mistaken  toilers,  their  breth 
ren,  rebelling  to  gain  a  little  butter  to  spread  on  their 
meager  bread. 

The  fences  were  reached  in  this  patient  march  that 
tried  the  kindly  souls  of  the  merciful.  The  gatling 
gun  was  placed  in  position ;  the  infantry  spread  out, 


THE  MILITIA 


375 


with  arms  shouldered.  Gradually  the  armed  pickets, 
stationed  around  the  fences  by  the  strikers,  withdrew ; 
only  to  assemble  in  a  solid  phalanx  and  strengthen 
the  gathering  forces  of  the  mob. 

"  We  order  you  to  disperse  in  the  name  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,''  shouted  the  captain. 

Even  Mrs.  Brodski,  forgetful  of  maternal  grief, 
scarcely  returned  from  the  funeral,  was  led  by  the 
hope  of  avenging  her  children  to  join  the  desperate 
throng.  She  fought  her  way  to  the  front.  Not  far 
removed  stood  Paul  and  Michael,  long  black  pipes  in 
their  hands. 

Mrs.  Brodski,  a  screaming  fury,  urged  the  men  on, 
flinging  the  word  coward,  coward,  coward,  in  their 
teeth,  bidding  them  remember  the  slain  whom  they 
had  buried  that  day.  She  pressed  forward,  and  shook 
her  fist  in  the  face  of  the  nearest  soldier.  Imperturb- 
ably  he  ordered  her  to  move  back.  She  heaped  op 
probrium  upon  him.  He  repeated  his  mandate,  un 
disturbed,  even  with  pity  in  his  heart  for  the  half- 
demented  woman.  She  spat  full  in  his  face.  Calmly 
he  wiped  the  saliva  from  it,  lifted  his  bayonet  against 
her  breast  and  repeated  his  injunction  more  sternly. 
She  tore  her  dress  open,  and  beating  her  hands  against 
her  bared  bosom,  shrilled  her  challenge,  defying  him 
to  stab  deep. 

Her  rampant  opposition  was  contagious ;  nay,  it 
was  as  fresh  fuel  to  dying  fires.  The  crowd  jeered 
and  hooted ;  the  timid  threw  missiles  from  the  back 
ranks ;  the  bolder  ones  moved  nearer,  and  the  few 
who  happened  to  have  fire-arms,  lifted  them  into 
place. 

"  Take  aim,"  cried  the  captain  in  stentorian  tones, 
intent  upon  subduing  by  terror,  willing  to  subdue  by 


376  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

onslaught  only  when  extremity  forced  the  measure. 
The  muskets  rattled  into  position. 

"  We  order  you  to  disperse  in  the  name  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,"  shouted  the  captain. 

The  strikers  remained  where  they  were,  although 
they  expected  the  lowered  bayonets  to  charge  against 
them.  The  soldiery  revolved  into  a  formidable  array. 

General  Crawford  dashed  along  on  his  white  steed, 
sitting  erect,  impassive,  his  horse  as  much  a  part  of 
him,  he  as  much  a  part  of  his  horse,  as  if  both  were  but 
the  two  parts  of  a  centaur.  His  eyes  were  as  cold,  as 
unfeeling  under  his  polished  glasses  as  if  they  were 
bits  of  clean,  clear  ice. 

"  Order  them  to  disperse,  and  if  they  don't  disperse, 
fire,"  he  directed  and  wheeled  away,  deaf  to  the  in 
sults  hurled  at  his  dignified  retreat. 

Mrs.  Brodski  stooped  down  and  lifted  a  handful 
of  mud  from  the  roadside  and  dashed  it  in  the  impas 
sive  faces  of  the  forgiving  martyrs.  A  guffaw  showed 
that  her  action  was  commended  by  the  strikers.  Paul 
and  Jan  lit  matches.  Emboldened  by  Mrs.  Brodski's 
unpunished  bravado,  a  steel  worker  fired  his  gun  at 
the  soldiery.  The  reckless  followed  in  vicious  suit. 
A  soldier  fell  to  the  ground  wounded  in  the  groin. 

The  men  in  the  ranks  of  the  militia  looked  at  their 
commander,  imploringly,  their  fingers  locked  on  the 
triggers  of  their  muskets ;  patience  had  become  a  vice. 

"  Fire !  "  came  his  order. 

A  storm,  a  whirlwind  of  bullets  burst  from  the  guns. 
Purposely,  some  few,  melting  at  the  last  minute,  fired 
overhead. 

A  volley  of  bullets  answered  the  fusillade  of  the 
troops.  Paul  and  Jan  lit  the  fuses  of  their  bombs 
and  whirled  them  sputtering  through  the  air.  Paul's 


THE  MILITIA  377 

went  out  in  its  whizzing  flight;  Jan's  was  stamped 
out  by  the  foot  of  a  terrified  musketeer.  Immediately 
Paul  hurled  another,  handed  to  him  by  a  man  be 
hind  ;  it  went  screaming  through  the  air,  but  it  burst 
too  soon,  scattering  noise  and  fury,  harming  nothing. 

"  Take  aim !  Fire !  "  resounded  the  direful  com 
mand  again. 

A  hurricane  of  bullets  whistled  furiously  with 
murderous  breath.  The  mob  broke  ranks  and  poured 
pell-mell  in  every  direction,  like  bewildered  cattle  on 
a  stampede,  feeling  death  trip  their  heels  and  clutch 
their  elbows.  Thirty  had  fallen  on  the  ground  to  arise 
to  their  feet  again  never.  Paul  and  Jan  were  unin 
jured  by  the  lead  that  hissed  and  muttered  past  their 
ears ;  Mrs.  Brodski  escaped  from  a  bullet  that  went 
searching  through  her  sleeve  for  her  flesh. 

The  brave  captain  mopped  his  brow,  shuddering 
as  if  the  brand  of  Cain  were  indelibly  there,  never  to 
be  rubbed  away.  "  God  knows,"  he  mumbled  to  him 
self,  "  I  didn't  want  to  kill  the  poor  devils."  Repeated 
baptism  of  fire  had  not  indurated  him  to  the  business. 
He  turned  to  examine  what  slaughter  his  own  com 
pany  had  suffered.  One  was  killed;  three  were 
seriously  wounded. 

On  a  pile  of  slag  beetling  over  the  fence  the  gatling 
gun  was  stationed  for  ornamental  use ;  a  cordon  of 
sentries  guarded  the  mill  on  the  outside,  so  closely 
aligned  that  they  could  stretch  out  their  hands  and 
touch  fingers. 

The  rest  of  the  regiment  entered  the  mill-yards 
and  deployed  south  towards  the  bridge;  simultane 
ously  companies  of  the  Second  Regiment  were  moved 
to  the  south  and  east  of  the  bridge ;  another  detach 
ment  stood  near  the  office  buildings  to  the  west.  Lines 


378  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

of  soldiers  stood  outside  the  entrance  to  keep  onlook 
ers  and  sympathizers  aloof  and  to  prevent  reinforce 
ments  to  the  strikers'  ranks.  Behind  and  within  the 
steel-mill  and  offices  sharpshooters  were  in  easy  range 
of  the  adversary  on  the  bridge ;  while  long  lines  of 
militia  were  protected  by  the  flanks  of  the  cars.  The 
impregnable  fortress  of  the  men  was  a  death-trap  that 
admitted  of  no  escape.  General  Crawford  smiled  at 
their  guileless  simplicity ;  it  amused  him.  The  men  in 
the  ranks  laughed  openly.  If  they  fired  death  would 
have  an  undisputed  holocaust. 

The  obsolete  gatling  gun,  with  its  complicated  mech 
anism,  was  giving  the  men  no  end  of  trouble.  It  was 
unwieldy,  worthless  in  their  unskilled  hands.  Their 
chief  armament  was  gone.  The  bombs  might  have 
proved  useful  if  the  militia  were  in  their  reach;  but 
the  nearest  were  out  of  range.  Besides,  it  was  a  thing 
to  make  their  goose-flesh  thrill — those  long-range 
gun-barrels  aimed  so  precisely,  so  unerringly  at 
them. 

A  panic  seized  them ;  the  cowardly  crushed  down 
the  end  of  the  bridge  towards  the  gate ;  the  braver 
surged  after  them ;  the  bravest  pushed  on  their  heels. 
Horrent  rows  of  bayonets  stopped  their  progress. 

"We  surrender!  We  surrender!''  went  up  the 
sobbing  cry. 

Other  detachments  closed  in ;  they  were  shut  up  as 
in  a  box. 

"  Drop  your  arms  on  the  ground  and  pass  out  of 
the  gate  one  by  one.  You  are  warned  to  return  home, 
avoid  crowds  and  preserve  the  peace,"  were  the  stern 
behests  of  the  captain,  glad  that  the  maneuver  of  the 
troops  had  avoided  slaying. 

"  I  would  like  to  give  them  my  gun  instead  of  tak- 


THE  MILITIA  379 

ing  their  guns  away/'  muttered  one  subaltern  to  an 
other. 

"  So  would  I,"  muttered  the  second. 

"  The  damn  governor  ought  to  have  his  head 
chopped  off,"  said  a  third. 

"  It  ain't  fair  to  silence  justice  by  force,"  growled 
a  more  intrepid  one,  louder. 

Something  like  a  spirit  of  mutiny  provoked  the  re 
flections.  The  pathetically  forlorn  faces  of  the  sur- 
renderers  touched  their  proletarian  hearts. 

"  Silence  in  the  ranks ! "  thundered  the  captain, 
who  chanced  to  overhear  the  insurrectionary  conver 
sation.  The  men,  with  stifled  breath,  wondered  if 
their  words  had  been  understood. 

The  captain  reported  the  insubordination  to  the 
general,  pointing  out  the  malefactors. 

"  Order  those  men  forward,"  called  General  Craw 
ford,  his  blue  eyes  sparkling  like  snow-flakes  on  blocks 
of  ice. 

Trembling,  overawed,  the  insurgents  stepped  for 
ward. 

"  A  soldier  has  no  sympathies ;  he  has  instructions/' 
spake  the  general,  feeling  frozen  out  of  his  voice. 
"  If  this  occurs  again  you  will  be  drummed  out  of 
camp.  Go  back  to  your  ranks." 

They  touched  their  hats  cravenly,  and  resumed  their 
places. 

The  gatling  gun  was  seized  and  dismounted;  the 
bombs  were  destroyed ;  the  guns  and  pistols  of  the 
mutinous  strikers  were  gathered.  The  mills  were 
garrisoned  on  all  sides ;  for  any  one  to  enter  them  any 
where  was  impossible. 

The  saloons  were  closed  in  the  towns ;  provost 
guards  marched  from  place  to  place  and  dispersed 


38o 


BY  BREAD   ALONE 


all  gatherings  that  outnumbered  six  people.  Orators 
were  silenced ;  even  loud  talking  was  forbidden. 
Loiterers  on  the  corners  were  ordered  home.  The 
billingsgate  of  screeching  women  was  stilled  by  ar 
rest. 

When  the  stars  shone  over  Marvin  on  that  eventful 
night  of  July  the  fifth,  they  twinkled  mellowly  over 
a  town  as  serene,  as  quiet,  as  hushed  as  the  very  sky 
in  which  they  shone. 

In  so  far  as  force  and  arms  were  concerned  the 
strike  was  lost ;  but  one  question  was  left  for  the  de 
batable  ground  of  the  hope  of  the  leaders — could 
Henry  Marvin  secure  enough  non-union  men,  skilled 
to  do  that  difficult  labor,  to  run  his  mammoth  mills 
and  fill  his  November  contracts  with  the  government? 
They  decided  he  could  not.  They  would  wait  and 
they  would  win. 


XXXIII 
FRIENDS  IN  NEED 

WHEN  the  bullet  from  the  Pinkerton  rifle  felled 
Blair,  Jan  and  Paul  dragged  him  from  the 
open  field  to  the  shelter  of  a  mound  of  slag. 
An  eighth  of  an  inch  thwarted  the  lead  from  crashing 
through  the  brachial  vessels  and  nerves,  and  by  that 
imperceptible  space  was  Blair  saved.  The  wound 
was  serious ;  the  ball  had  broken  the  right  shoulder 
blade  and  the  flesh  was  torn  and  jagged.  They 
tended  his  injuries  with  loving  albeit  bungling  hands, 
concentrating  their  crude  efforts  on  the  stanching 
of  the  blood. 

When  the  barge  escaped  on  the  lake,  when  the  ranks 
of  the  soldiers  of  industry  gave  way  and  the  battle 
was  over,  Jan,  Paul  and  Michael,  hidden  in  their 
covert,  remained  where  they  were.  At  the  coming  of 
darkness  and  the  massing  of  the  heavy  shadows  of 
the  night,  the  trio  carried  their  disabled  comrade 
homeward. 

Their  plan  was  one  of  method,  not  of  madness.  The 
brothers  feared  the  advent  of  the  law  after  the  escape 
of  the  Pinkertons,  and  they  wished  to  hide  Blair  from 
its  punitive  clutch.  Future  events  proved  that  there 
was  no  madness  in  their  method. 

Mrs.  Brodski  sat  on  the  floor  in  the  parlor  of  her 
tenement,  keening  like  a  wild  bird  over  her  dead  chil- 

381 


382  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

dren.  Her  hair  was  disheveled,  streaming  unregarded 
in  her  eyes  and  face.  Now  and  then  she  fell  supine 
and  sobbed  as  if  her  heart  were  leaping  from  her  fat 
bosom.  Little  Adam  was  sleeping  in  his  cradle  peace 
fully,  in  babyhood's  blissful  unconsciousness  of  the 
events  of  the  day. 

The  room  was  denuded  of  the  cheap  and  trivial 
ornaments ;  one  article  after  the  other  having  found 
its  way  to  the  second-hand  stores  to  purchase  bread 
during  the  first  week  of  the  strike,  before  the  Advisory 
Committee  had  its  machinery  for  the  distribution  of 
funds  in  working  order.  The  sacred  pictures ;  the 
metallic  crucifix ;  the  red  ingrain  carpet  and  the  glass 
case,  with  its  wedding  bouquet  and  portrait,  were  all 
that  remained. 

\Yhen  Jan  entered,  the  disasters  of  the  battle  were  re 
called  with  a  shock,  blood-curdling  as  the  first  over 
whelming  intelligence,  by  his  mother's  prostrate  form 
—by  the  chill,  insensate  bodies  of  Wanda,  Thomas, 
Mary  and  Anna,  asleep  in  the  undisseverable  arms  of 
greedy  Death.  He  stood  plucking  at  his  red  beard. 
He  felt  the  tears  in  his  eyes  congeal,  and  a  cry  that  he 
could  not  express  filled  his  heart  as  with  lead. 

He  knelt  down  on  the  floor,  clasping  his  mother  af 
fectionately  in  his  strong  arms,  kissing  her  unwashed 
cheek.  Love  was  stronger  than  the  tenets  of  his  un 
natural  creed  which  mocked  and  scorned  the  binding 
ties  of  kith  and  kin.  She  clung  to  him  desperately,  as 
if  he  too,  her  eldest  born  and  best  beloved,  were  to  be 
snatched  from  her  despoiled  and  bereaved  soul.  She 
burst  away  from  him  suddenly  and  fell  to  rocking  her 
self  to  and  fro;  then  she  sat  upright,  rigid  and  stiff, 
as  if  frozen  by  horror. 

Jan  told  her  that  Blair  lay  in  the  cabinet  off  the 


FRIENDS  IN  NEED  383 

kitchen,  raving,  lapsing  into  fits  of  unconsciousness. 
The  news  seemed  to  make  no  impression ;  for  she 
crept  along  the  floor  to  the  wall  where  hung  the  litho 
graph  of  the  Virgin  with  the  flaming  heart,  and  she 
remained  there,  her  hands  clasped,  lost  in  prayer. 
With  a  soft  step  Jan  turned  towards  the  door. 

Mrs.  Brodski  pulled  herself  to  her  feet  and  shrilled, 
'  Take  him  out !  Away !  I'll  not  have  him  here. 
But  for  him  they  would  be  alive!  It's  his  fault,  the 
talker  !  The  man  of  fine  words !  "  and  she  broke  down 
in  a  gust  of  tears  that  choked  her  denunciatory 
wrath,  forgetful  of  Blair,  of  everything  but  her  misery 
and  her  dead  children. 

Paul  returned  to  the  tenement  accompanied  by  the 
slight  Polish  doctor  with  the  pink  cheeks  and  the 
curly,  blond  hair.  It  had  been  a  wearing  day  for  him 
and  he  was  yawning  heavily.  He  shook  his  head 
when  he  saw  his  patient  and  muttered  indistinct  words 
about  the  gravity  of  the  case,  which  neither  Jan  nor 
Paul  nor  Michael  understood. 

The  doctor  examined  the  wound,  probed  for  the  bul 
let,  extracted  it  and  bandaged  the  shoulder.  He  col 
lected  his  instruments,  replaced  them  in  the  worn 
leather  bag,  explaining,  on  the  way  out,  that  he  had 
much  to  do.  No,  the  thing  was  not  dangerous,  but 
painful,  and  it  would  take  a  long  time  for  the  shat 
tered  bone  to  heal.  They  need  have  no  fear,  he  would 
pull  through.  He  stopped,  searched  in  his  pockets, 
felt  for  his  recipe  book  and  wrote  a  prescription, 
mumbling  his  directions  hastily.  He  was  so  busy ; 
there  were  so  many  wounded ;  he  would  be  back  be 
fore  morning,  shortly  after  midnight  no  doubt.  They 
must  keep  the  sufferer  quiet.  A  frightfully  hot  night 
for  such  work !  He  hastened  out. 


384  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Michael  lifted  his  hat  and  fingered  the  prescription 
gingerly.  When  he  came  back  with  the  bottles  Father 
Kozma  was  there.  The  priest  had  been  working  his 
rounds  through  the  maze  of  tenements,  consoling 
here,  warning  there,  praying,  comforting,  exhorting, 
as  the  exigencies  demanded. 

Jan  scowled  loweringly,  Michael  frowned,  snap 
ping  the  blade  of  his  knife  back  and  forth.  Father 
Kozma  faced  them,  with  index  finger  pointing  elo 
quently.  "  Didn't  I  warn  you  against  this  Mr.  Carr- 
hart  and  his  speeches?  Haven't  I  warned  all  of  you 
that  left  the  church  not  to  listen  to  his  enticing  speech 
of  lies  and  irreligion?  Look  at  the  misery  he  has 
brought  down  on  your  house,  see  what  the  vengeance 
of  the  Lord  has  wreaked  upon  you ! '' 

A  groan  came  from  the  cabinet  off  the  kitchen.  The 
priest  ceased  his  declamation  and,  dropping  his  hand 
at  his  side  and  bending  his  head,  listened  keenly. 
Mrs.  Brodski's  face  wore  a  tell-tale  look.  The  son's 
lips  skewered  up  towards  a  half  shut,  warning  eye. 
Her  opened  mouth,  on  the  point  of  revealing  danger 
ous  words,  shut  tightly.  Mrs.  Brodski  feared  Jan, 
with  a  fear  equal  to  the  dread  cf  the  priest. 

"  Who  was  that  ?  Who  else  was  hurt  ?  "  queried 
the  father. 

u  Paul,"  answered  Jan  coolly,  "  he  was  shot  in  the 
arm." 

The  door  of  the  cabinet  creaked.  If  Paul  should 
chance  to  come  out !  Luckily  he  overheard  and 
stayed  where  he  was,  his  heavy  boot  pressed  against 
the  door. 

"Eh?"  questioned  the  priest,  his  inquiry  a  patent 
disbelief. 

"  Paul,"  reasserted  Jan ;  "  he  was  shot  in  the  arm." 


FRIENDS  IN  NEED  385 

The  holy  man's  eyes  gave  the  repetition  the  silent 
lie;  Jan  met  the  look,  unflinching,  firm. 

"  What  became  of  the  desecrator  of  the  holy  cruci 
fix  ?  "  The  dawn  of  discovery  widened  across  his  face. 
"  I  remember  now ;  you  and  your  brother  carried  him 
away." 

Jan  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  negativing  obdura- 
tion.  Michael  clicked  the  blade  of  his  knife. 

"  You  lie !  "  exclaimed  the  priest.  "  You  know. 
He  is  in  there.  It  was  he  I  heard." 

"  It  was  Paul,"  persisted  Jan ;  "  he  was  shot  in  the 
arm." 

Father  Kozma  strode  towards  the  door,  his  sloping 
head  pushed  foremost,  his  jaws  shut  with  determina 
tion. 

Jan  blocked  his  way.  "  Not  in  there,  father.  Paul 
lies  in  there  sick ;  he  is  not  to  be  disturbed." 

"  It  is  the  province  of  the  priest  to  visit  the  sick.'' 

"  The  sick  of  his  own  church,  yes." 

"  Is  Paul  not  of  my  church?  "  he  asked  cajolingly. 

"  No,"  answered  Jan,  "  he  is  of  no  church." 

"  Jan,  you  are  drawing  ruin  down  on  this  house ; 
if  you  continue,  you  will — I  dare  not  say  what  will 
befall  you  all." 

Jan's  lips  pursed  tightly.  "  Nothing  worse  than 
has  happened  to  them — in  there.  We  are  ready  when 
it  comes.  They  must  pay  for  that  first." 

The  mother  cried  hysterically,  kissing  the  priest's 
hand,  falling  on  her  knees,  clutching  his  long  black 
coat,  and  begging  him  to  remove  the  curse  from  her 
sons  and  her  ill-fated  house.  They  had  already  suf 
fered  more  than  their  share,  the  blessed  Virgin 
knew. 

Her  sons  were  good  men,  only  headstrong  and  mis- 
25 


386 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


led.  They  would  see  the  error  of  their  ways  before 
long  and  return  to  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

Jan  listened,  unmoved,  or  if  his  mother's  agony 
touched  him,  the  unaltered  expression  on  his  hard- 
set  face  did  not  show  it. 

"  Once  for  all,"  demanded  the  priest,  "  will  you 
obey  ?  " 

"  No  man  can  enter  that  room  while  I  live,''  hissed 
Jan. 

"  Dead  or  alive/'  fulminated  Father  Kozma,  "  that 
irreligious  wretch  must  leave  this  house." 

"  Dead  or  alive,"  retorted  Jan  composedly,  "  the 
man  in  that  room  rests  where  he  is.M 

"  Then,"  threatened  the  priest,  moving  towards  the 
door,  "  I  denounce  you  to  the  law.  Since  you  are 
deaf  to  the  commands  of  the  church,  you  will  feel  the 
strong  hand  of  the  law,"  and  with  face  glowering 
upon  them,  he  backed  slowly  out  of  the  room  into  the 
dark  passage-way. 

The  broken-hearted  mother,  heedless  again  of  all 
other  tragedies  that  might  befall,  crawled  back  to  her 
dead.  The  brothers  held  a  hasty  consultation  at  Blair's 
bedside.  They  doubted  not  that  the  vexed  priest  would 
divulge  their  secret  at  the  most  opportune  and  dra 
matic  moment.  Perhaps  he  was  betaking  himself  to 
the  authorities  now.  Blair  must  be  moved.  But 
whither?  Michael  bethought  him  of  Mrs.  Ludvig, 
the  widowed  mother  of  his  betrothed,  and  he  sug 
gested  that  she  might  offer  a  friendly  concealment  to 
the  wounded  refugee  from  the  law. 

But  Blair  was  growing  worse ;  as  midnight  ap 
proached  his  temperature  was  mounting  to  the  danger 
point.  His  delirium  had  returned  and  he  was  venl- 
ing  broken  sentences  that,  if  pieced  together,  would 


FRIENDS  IN  NEED  387 

have  made  a  rambling  account  of  his  more  stirring 
experiences  in  the  mill ;  in  the  odd  and  pathetic 
jumble  of  people,  places  and  incidents  which  followed, 
the  name  of  Van  was  reiterated  oftenest  and  with 
greatest  stress. 

Paul  noted  the  recurrence  of  that  one  name,  and 
after  a  few  minutes'  struggle  with  his  memory  he 
succeeded  in  recalling  the  face  to  which  the  title  Van 
belonged.  He' explained  his  understanding  of  Blair's 
relationship  to  Evangeline  and  thought  that  the  young 
lady  should  be  called.  She  would  make  a  better  nurse 
than  they.  Jan  was  of  another  opinion ;  it  would  be 
better  to  wait  until  the  patient  was  moved,  and  until 
they  had  again  conferred  with  the  doctor. 

At  midnight,  with  eyes  almost  closed  from  fatigue, 
the  Polish  physician  arrived.  He  combated  the  mov 
ing  of  Blair  vigorously ;  it  would  be  hazardous ;  his 
present  condition  would  pernrt  no  such  risk ;  inflam 
mation  might  set  in.  Still,  if  it  were  a  question  of  law 
and  police,  they  knew  best. 


XXXIV 
THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES 

INFLAMMATION    set    in    Blair's    wound   on    the 
morning   after   his   removal   to   the   tenement   of 
the  Ludvigs;  he  escaped  from  the  wrath  of  the 
priest  only  to  slip   into  the   waiting  arms  of   death. 
The  Polish  physician  examined  him,  shook  his  head 
gravely  and  grumbled  that  he  had  warned  them  to 
leave  Blair  where  he  was.     The  chances  were  even 
now. 

Paul  walked  over  to  the  Settlement  in  quest  of 
Evangeline.  A  charwoman  responded  to  his  repeated 
knocking.  The  Settlement  was  closed  for  the  pres 
ent  ;  Miss  Marvin's  mother  was  dangerously  ill  and 
the  young  lady  had  been  called  home  several  day> 
ago. 

Paul  learned  Evangeline's  city  address  and  con 
tinued  his  search  to  the  doors  of  Marvin's  Chicago 
home.  His  mission  proved  fruitless ;  the  great  house 
was  boarded  up  and  closed  tightly.  A  grocervman. 
passing  in  his  wagon,  halloed  to  him  that  the  family 
was  away  in  the  country — some  unpronounceable  re 
sort,  the  name  of  which  Paul  con  Id  not  remember. 
When  Paul,  discouraged  and  worn,  returned  at  noon, 
Blair  was  lower  than  ever;  the  doctor  feared  blood 
poisoning. 

388 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES     389 

Meanwhile,  a  double  thread  of  tragedy  was  en 
tangling  the  Marvin  family  in  its  meshes ;  a  domestic 
disaster  was  added  to  the  industrial  one ;  and  the 
home,  like  the  mills,  was  now  a  stage  of  terror. 

In  the  last  of  the  June  days  Marvin's  wife  left  the 
city  residence  for  their  resort  in  Oconomowoc.  It 
was  Henry  Marvin's  custom,  during  the  summer  sea 
son,  to  quit  his  office  on  Friday  afternoon  and  return 
for  work  on  Monday — three  days  of  rest  in  which  he 
worked  hard  trying  to  disengage  his  mind  from  work. 
This  year  the  troubles  at  the  mill  had  kept  him  at 
home. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  Marvin  was  summoned 
from  his  harassing  cares  in  the  city  to  still  greater 
ones  in  the  country — his  wife  was  lying  on  her  death 
bed;  an  overdose  of  the  drug  to  which  she  was  ad 
dicted  had  affected  her  heart.  Evangeline,  the  twins 
and  Marvin  hastened  thither  at  once ;  but  early  as 
was  their  departure  their  arrival  was  too  late.  Mrs. 
Marvin  passed  away  while  her  husband  and  children 
were  flying  towards  her  on  a  special  train. 

Van  mourned  her  mother  deeply,  the  sorrow  of  that 
wasted  life  was  pathetic  beyond  the  consoling  tender 
ness  of  tears.  The  twins  wondered  if  black  would  be 
becoming  and  spent  the  night  before  the  glass  af 
fecting  lugubrious  countenances  that  would  best  har 
monize  with  that  cheerless  color.  Henry  Marv:n, 
with  a  grief  more  sentimental  than  genuine,  bemoaned 
the  happy  days  of  their  early  marriage.  Several 
times  he  caught  himself,  with  a  severe  shock  to  even 
his  impenitent  conscience,  wishing,  as  if  the  wish 
were  formulated  by  a  mind  other  than  his  own,  that 
his  wife's  demise  had  occurred  before  the  strike  had 
begun  or  after  it  was  over — his  enemies,  who  were 


390  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

legion,  would  be  sure  to  draw  moral  deductions  from 
her  death  and  to  point  to  it  as  a  miraculous  warning 
from  an  interceding  Providence. 

Marvin  knew  his  enemies;  and  he  suspected  that 
Providence  did  not  interfere  unduly  with  the  af 
fairs  of  man,  at  least  He  had  not  meddled  with  the 
success  of  his  career;  but  he  hated  the  inference; 
and  he  detested  the  idea  of  having  the  name  of  Henry 
Marvin  adorn  the  moral  to  which  their  officious  ser 
monizing  would  point.  A  somber  mood  followed 
this  pondering,  and  he  grew  self-condemnatory,  re 
proachful,  pulling  off  the  disguises  of  his  soul  that 
his  own  eye  might  not  be  deluded  by  the  mummery 
he  had  worn  so  long;  and  he  turned  away  from  the 
nakedness  his  ruthlessness  disclosed. 

His  conscience  spoke;  no,  it  tore  its  way  through 
lie  and  deceit  and  falsity  as  revealing  winds  might 
blow  aside  a  heap  of  leaves  that  hide  a  corpse,  hastily 
buried.  It  was  a  strange  hour  in  his  existence;  he  had 
known  none  other  like  it;  he  was  answering  for  him 
self  to  himself.  Her  dead  face  arose  before  him 
again  and  again,  \van,  pale,  and,  oh,  God!  so  reproach 
ful,  so  accusing. 

His  study  looked  out  on  the  lawn  that  sloped,  with 
its  rows  and  clusters  of  shade  trees  and  its  symmetric 
al  garden  beds,  down  to  the  shores  of  the  inland  lake. 
A  peculiar  craving  for  the  semi-darkness  seized  him, 
and  he  jerked  the  yellow  shades  down. 

The  law  of  his  nature,  the  law  of  his  success,  had 
been  hardness,  firmness,  invincibility;  he  \vould  be 
hard,  he  would  be  firm,  he  would  be  invincible.  He 
arose,  resolute,  and  walked  into  the  room  where  she 
lay.  Courage  flinched;  he  flagellated  the  fleeing 
coward  to  his  service  and  looked. 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES      391 

He  ran  back  to  the  seclusion  of  his  study ;  he  craved 
the  darkness.  It  was  mysterious,  telepathic,  a  voice 
from  another  world,  an  elusive  something  that  sneered 
at  the  analysis  of  his  solving  thought, — this  look  of 
reproach,  of  blame,  of  the  mute  suffering  of  the  many 
years  on  the  face  of  the  dead,  and,  under  all,  like 
the  dimmer  writing  of  a  palimpsest,  the  childish  con 
fidence,  the  buoyancy  of  her  maidenhood,  as  if  the 
former  expression  were  but  a  thin  gauze  to  shadow 
the  latter.  Did  he  imagine  this?  It  was  indubitably 
there  as  the  patterns  on  the  rug,  from  which  a  thou 
sand  faces  like  the  one  he  had  just  gazed  upon  peered 
up  at  him.  He  stamped  his  foot,  heel  downward, 
in  the  rug  and  rang  for  the  butler. 

The  butler,  who  had  been  with  the  family  for  years, 
was  amazed  at  his  master's  grief,  at  his  bleared  and 
haggard  expression.  Through  his  long  service  he  had 
heard  scarcely  one  word  nf  endearment  pass  between 
husband  and  wife. 

Marvin  cut  his  reflections  short.  "  Brandy  and 
soda,"  he  ordered,  with  a  snap  more  effectual  than  if 
haste  had  been  verbally  insisted  upon.  The  menial 
returned  with  the  intoxicant.  Marvin  gulped  down  a 
glassful.  It  was  not  to  his  taste,  and  the  flunkey  sought 
the  wineroom  for  another  vintage. 

When  the  man  reappeared,  he  eyed  his  master  ques- 
tioningly.  He  had  been  pondering  as  he  moved  on 
his  errand,  and  he  was  more  and  more  nonplused  by 
the  grief  which  proved  the  widower's  affection. 
Marvin  snatched  the  bottle  out  of  the  preoccupied 
servant's  hand  and  broke  the  neck  on  the  edge  of  the 
mahogany  writing  table.  His  blood  was  febrile,  his 
palate  seemed  cleft,  cracking  with  scorching  thirst. 
He  gulped  down  glass  after  glass,  discarding  the  soda 


392  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

and  drinking  the  liquor  raw.  There  was  no  relief, 
his  blood  burned ;  fire  ran  through  his  veins. 

The  upbraiding  face  was  near  him  again.  He  bade 
it  be  gone;  he  suborned  his  strong  will,  but  his  will 
was  powerless  to  exorcise  the  hallucination.  He 
strode  up  and  down  the  room — a  myriad  of  faces, 
every  one  of  them  her  face,  stared  down  at  him  from 
the  walls  and  the  ceiling.  He  sat  down,  covering  his 
eyes  with  his  hands.  Was  1-is  brain  softening?  Was 
he  doddering  into  insanity  at  a  moment  when  he  need 
ed  his  wits  most  to  pluck  victory  from  a  decisive  hour? 

He  was  temporarily  insane,  his  mind  aberrated ;  and 
he,  who  alLhis  life  long  had  so  carefully  barred  the 
pathway  of  liis  mouth  to  the  thief  of  brains,  let  the 
enemy  in,  and  drank  with  all  the  restless,  furious 
energy  that  characterized  his  activity  for  better  pur 
poses.  The  thief  took  quick  advantage  of  an  undis 
puted  passage.  The  phantasmagoria  was  growing 
frightful,  assuming  terrorizing  shape.  He  rang  for 
more  brandy,  snatched  the  bottle  from  the  dazed 
butler's  hand  and  broke  the  neck  off  on  the  edge  of 
the  table. 

Three  o'clock  came  and  four  and  five,  and  he  was 
still  sitting  there,  brooding  in  the  infinite  darkness  that 
enswathed  his  mind.  Tremor  if  not  tremens  shook 
him ;  dread  visions  were  drawing1  closer  and  closer  to 
his  shrinking  frame,  leering^  there  on  the  wall  opposite, 
with  fiendish  obduracy,  vanishing  for  but  a  second  to 
appear  in  more  terrifying  guise.  He  hurled  his  glass 
at  them  with  an  exorcising  curse ;  the  brandy  left  a 
long  yellow  streak  on  the  light  blue  tint  of  the  wall, 
and  the  glass,  broken  into  bits,  fell  on  the  carpet.  The 
faces  grinned  down  upon  him  still,  whirling  nearer 
and  nearer,  then  darting  back. 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES 


393 


He  could  endure  it  no  longer;  he  must  escape  from 
himself  or  else  his  sanity  would  escape  from  him. 

"  Van !  Van !  Van !  "  He  ran  out  into  the  hall,  un 
mindful  of  any  effect  that  his  conduct  would  have  on 
the  minds  of  prying  servants,  and  called  to  her  as  the 
shipwrecked  might  call  to  a  ship  passing  in  the  night. 
"  Coming,  father,"  she  answered,  affrighted  by  the  un 
wonted  tones  of  terror  in  his  voice.  He  ran  back,  cow 
ering  down  in  his  armchair,  his  eyes  closed,  his  hands 
pressed  to  his  forehead,  hot  as  with  the  kiss  of  live 
coals. 

She  was  at  her  father's  side,  a  ministering  angel, 
seated  on  the  arm  of  his  chair,  her  arms  around  his 
neck,  locked  lovingly  and  protectingly. 

"  Closer,  Van,  closer."  He  held  her  as  if  he  were  in 
fear  of  oncoming  death  and  he  wished  to  take  her 
with  him  into  the  bourne  of  shadow  that  she  might 
plead  his  cause  against  the  blotted  records  of  his  life. 
Groans  burst  from  him,  gurgling  up  from  the  depths 
of  his  heart,  sad  as  those  of  a  victim  in  the  grasp  of 
melancholia. 

She  soothed ;  she  pleaded ;  she  consoled,  with  the  in  - 
definable  tenderness  that  was  Van's  and  Van's  alone 
— there  was  none  other  like  it.  He  surrendered  him 
self  to  her,  his  quailing  spirit  plucking  strength  in  the 
benign  protection  of  her  entwining  arms.  He  grew 
tranquil,  quiet.  Grotesque  visions  seemed  airy,  im 
palpable,  harmless,  while  the  warm  and  vital  thrill  of 
Van's  flesh  was  on  his  cheek.  He  ceased  his  moan 
ing;  his  shattered  nerves  steadied,  slowly,  unwillingly 
returning  the  self-control  they  had  taken  from  him. 

Before  the  fall  of  night  he  was  sleeping  on  the 
leather  lounge,  Van  rocking  to  and  fro  beside  him; 
and  even  in  the  wakeful  semi-consciousness  of  sleep  he 


394          BY  BREAD  ALONE 

could  hear  the  lulling  movement  of  the  rocker  and  he 
knew  that  his  guardian  angel  would  not  leave  him  to 
face  the  dread  and  fear  of  waking  alone. 

He  arose  at  ten,  refreshed  and  restored,  mocking 
at  his  pusillanimity  in  his  bravery  regained,  amazed  at 
the  foolish,  inexplicable  impulse  that  made  him  suc 
cumb  to  its  vagarious  suggestions.  It  was  passing 
strange,  ludicrously  impossible.  He  dared  the  halluci 
nation  now,  smiling  grimly.  He  was  his  own  master 
and  would  remain  so. 

He  dismissed  Van  with  a  kiss.  He  wished  to  be 
alone ;  he  had  much  that  needed  the  attention  of  his 
thought  and  he  could  think  best  when  alone.  She  re 
turned  to  her  room.  He  passed  out  under  the  canopy 
of  a  perfect  night,  luminous  with  innumerable  clear, 
shining  stars.  His  foot,  crunching  the  gravel  of  the 
shaded  walks,  awoke  slumbering  echoes  and  sent  them 
murmuring,  dying  slowly  into  silence  again,  as  they 
rolled  between  the  arches  of  trees.  Back  and  forth, 
and  forth  and  back  he  strode,  his  hands  clasped  behind 
him,  his  brows  knit. 

He  bent  his  mind  towards  his  commercial  affairs  as 
if  it  were  a  coil  of  steel  in  the  control  of  his  hands. 
He  was  absorbed  in  them  soon,  totally  lost ;  figures 
and  not  fancies  filled  his  brain ;  he  became  an  adding 
machine,  plus  the  capacity  of  judging  and  appraising 
the  figures  he  added.  The  pacific  stars  must  have 
marveled  at  this  man ;  perhaps  they  pitied  him. 

Now  that  the  governor  had  called  out  the  militia, 
he  had  no  doubt  that  the  issue  would  come  to  a  point 
soon,  and  he  could  do  with  the  point  as  he  would. 
The  men  must  accept  his  terms ;  the  power  of  the 
unions  would  be  crushed.  He  cut  a  harsh  laugh  short 
with  two  metallic  notes. 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES      395 

And  the  law-breakers?  the  vandals?  the  mischief- 
makers?  He  would  have  the  law  they  broke  wreak 
its  vengeance.  Wait  until  the  legal  machinery  of 
state  and  county  was  set  whirling  in  their  direction! 
Several  judges  on  the  bench  were  his  friends;  his 
influence  had  placed  them  where  they  were;  now  let 
their  friendship  show  appreciation  of  the  place.  As 
for  that  arch-conspirator,  Carrhart — he  would  have 
him  on  the  gallows  for  murder  of  the  Pmkertons  or 
in  jail  for  life  on  the  charge  of  manslaughter.  With 
impunity  no  man  could  trifle  with  Henry  Marvin ! 

One  thing  only  worried  him :  could  the  Company 
fulfil  its  immense  contracts  for  armor  plate  with  the 
Government  at  the  time  agreed  upon?  They  had  un 
til  November,  and  it  was  July  now ;  he  would  find  a 
way,  no  matter  what  the  way  of  finding  it  was.  His 
heel  burrowed  into  the  gravel ;  he  would  show  those 
fellows— the  contract  would  be  met  to  the  letter. 

Suddenly  the  terrifying  vision  arose  before  him, 
duplicating  itself  a  thousandfold,  thronging  the  in 
terminable  spaces  of  the  night.  He  was  ready  to 
scream  aloud,  to  rush  back  to  the  house  and  call  his 
protecting  angel  to  his  aid.  He  fought  for  control : 
he  argued  with  himself.  He  was  brain-fatigued; 
brain-diseased  from  an  overstraining  of  the  faculties 
of  thought;  he  had  no  right  to  tax  himself  with  the 
involved  propositions  of  a  distressing  business.  This 
thing  must  be  settled  here  and  now,  once  and  forever. 
He  would  be  the  captain  of  his  own  soul;  he  would 
not  be  commanded  by  the  phantoms  of  jaded  nerves 
and  deluded  senses.  He  needed  rest ;  when  his  affairs 
were  settled,  he  would  take  Van  with  him  and  put  a 
girdle  around  the  diversions  and  entertainments  of  the 
whole  world. 


396  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

He  paced  on  through  the  gardened  acres  of  his  sum 
mer  estate,  with  some  thought,  maybe,  of  that  delicious 
irony  which  sneered  at  his  manikin  efforts  to  find 
rest  in  a  resort  upon  which  he  had  expended  a  fortune 
that  he  might  find  comfort  when  aweary  of  his  quest 
for  gold.  He  hastened  along,  not  noticing  whither 
his  steps  tended.  Through  the  graceful  umbrage  of  the 
soft  maples  clustering  around  his  gardener's  cottage, 
a  mellow  light  shone  invitingly  like  a  moon  taken  from 
the  sky  and  framed  in  the  window.  The  light  spoke 
like  a  voice ;  it  seemed  human,  companionable,  offer 
ing  comradeship  to  his  utter  loneliness. 

He  drew  anigh ;  the  shades  were  up,  the  windows 
open  to  the  benediction  of  the  night.  The  frau  of  the 
German  horticulturist  was  seated  at  the  piano,  attun 
ing  chords  to  the  words  of  the  folk-song  that  her  voice, 
unmelodious  by  no  means,  was  fondling  sweetly  and 
slowly,  as  if  loath  to  let  them  go.  The  leaves  rustled 
softly  as  if  in  time  with  the  tune.  Marvin  peered 
within.  The  gardener  himself  was  reading  by  the 
light  of  a  student-lamp,  turning  away  from  his  book 
at  minute  intervals  to  listen  to  the  music,  as  if  he 
were  between  two  treasures  and  knew  not  which  to 
choose ;  a  self-satisfied,  at-ease-with-the-world  expres 
sion  shone  on  his  rubicund  face. 

Here  was  contentment,  here  was  peace,  and  Mar 
vin's  soul  cried  out  in  the  agony  of  its  envy.  Money 
could  not  buy  everything,  ran  his  commonplace  reflec 
tion,  but  the  law  that  wrote  the  limitations  of  its  pur 
chasing  power  baffled  his  comprehension.  Every  man 
had  his  price ;  but  every  man  had  qualities  which  all 
the  money  in  the  world,  though  stacked  until  its  sum 
mit  reached  the  stars,  was  as  sterile  in  the  power  of  pur 
chase  as  so  much  sand. 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES      397 

An  odd  whim,  awakened  doubtless  by  the  morbid 
ness  of  his  mood,  seized  him  and  he  tapped  at  the  door. 
The  German  answered  the  call,  surprised  at  a  visit 
which  custom  did  not  stamp  with  its  warrant.  Mar 
vin  explained  that  he  chanced  to  be  strolling  by  and  he 
wished  to  ask  several  questions  concerning  his  con 
servatory  and  grounds.  On  the  morrow  a  telegram 
might  summon  him  to  town.  Half  bidden,  half  un 
bidden,  he  seated  himself  in  the  parlor,  shaking  his 
head  affirmatively  at  what  the  guardian  of  his  flowers, 
plants  and  trees  suggested,  hearing  him  and  his  Latin 
terminologies  no  more  than  if  he  were  not  speaking. 
The  blond  frau,  abashed  by  the  presence  of  the  aristo 
cratic  visitor,  had  ceased  playing,  twisting  nervously 
on  the  piano-stool.  She  wished  to  leave  the  room ;  but 
she  concluded,  with  twiddling  fingers,  that  such  a 
course  would  be  considered  improper. 

"  Perhaps  your  wife  will  play  a  little  for  me,"  he 
suggested.  "  I  like  music." 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  husband,  puzzled  by  the 
eccentricity  of  his  employer. 

The  diminutive  wife,  craving  to  be  excused  and  yet 
not  daring  to  ask  for  the  excuse  she  craved,  played 
with  uncertain  wandering  fingers  and  sang  with  a  qua 
vering  voice.  Her  husband  was  as  abashed  as  she,  and 
he  plucked  at  his  squarely  trimmed  blond  beard — tend 
ed  like  his  osage  hedges — as  if  balm  for  his  dispeace 
were  there. 

Restlessness  seized  Marvin  again ;  he  was  dis 
traught,  feeling  his  obtrusion ;  his  lack  of  harmony 
with  those  simple  people  and  their  plain  environment. 
He  arose  with  a  jerk,  a  sinking  sensation  in  the  pit 
of  his  stomach,  and  with  a  sharp  "  Thank  you ;  good 
night,"  he  was  gone  into  the  darkness,  leaving  the 


398  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

recipients  of  his  odd  visit  awonder  with  its  portent. 
Perhaps  it  meant  discharge,  and  the  hearts  of  both 
were  heavy  and  worried  that  night.  The  music 
ceased ;  the  book  was  laid  aside. 

When  Marvin  reached  the  house  he  caught  the 
glimmer  of  the  lamp-light  filtering  through  the  red 
shade,  and  he  knew  that  Evangeline  awaited  him. 
After  all  und:r  his  own  rooftree  were  music  and  the 
kindly  light  of  a  welcoming  soul ;  for  the  moment  the 
deep  shadows  of  his  melancholy  were  dissipated,  and 
a  sense  of  happiness,  never  before  so  deliciously  ex 
perienced,  poured  balm  over  his  aching  heart.  She 
rose  to  meet  him,  flinging  the  door  open  on  hearing 
the  beat  of  his  quick  step  on  the  hard  wood  of  the  hall. 

Evangeline  sat  on  his  knee,  their  arms  intertwined ; 
he  was  softened,  melted  by  this  sudden  warmth  of 
affection,  and  tears  found  their  way  to  those  eyes  that 
had  been  dry  and  tearless  throughout  the  years.  At 
last  they  were  drawn  together,  united,  held  together 
by  a  communion  of  soul ;  they  were  drawn  closer  than 
the  mere  legal  relationship  of  father  and  daughter 
could  draw  them ;  a  bond  of  affection  knit  them  firmly 
— a  something  which  no  law  can  give,  nor  yet  which 
any  law  can  take  away. 

They  broke  the  silence.  They  approached  the  sub 
ject  of  the  death  of  his  wife,  then  gradually  they  en 
tered  into  it.  It  seemed  strange  at  first ;  they  had 
never  talked  thus,  intimately;  but  soon  the  unac 
customed  donned  the  garb  of  habitude ;  as  if  they  were 
but  assuming  a  duty  long  deferred.  He  spoke  of  the 
difference  her  death  would  make  in  their  lives;  they 
would  be  alone  now,  dependent  upon  each  other  for 
company. 

"  You  will  be  married  some  day,  Van ;  very  happily, 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES     399 

I  hope,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  but  I  don't  want  you 
to  ever  leave  me.  I  want  you  to  make  your  home 
with  me  or  to  let  me  make  my  home  with  you. 
Promise  me  now  that  you  will."  A  prevision  of  senil 
ity,  sans  everything,  forced  him  to  exact  the  promise. 
The  nature  of  the  man  had  undergone  a  strange 
change  during  that  day. 

She  smiled,  patting  his  cheek.  "  I  promise." 
The  moment  was  ripe  for  the  open  confession  that 
would  do  good  to  her  soul  that  had  retained  the  secret 
of  her  love  in  chafing  silence  so  long.  She  would  tell 
him  now.  Yet  the  confession  was  not  easy.  Sen 
tences  framed  themselves  in  her  mind,  the  words  were 
in  her  throat,  but  the  restraint  of  virgin  delicacy  held 
them  back.  Her  lips  pursed;  her  hands  clenched; 
courage  came  and  she  spoke. 

"  I  may  be  married  long  before  you  expect." 
"  Eh !  "  he  started.     "  What  makes  you  say  that?  " 
She    remained    silent ;    her    heart    swinging    with 
quickened  beat. 

"  Come,  Van,  tell  me ;  you  can  tell  me.  You  haven't 
given  your  heart  away  yet ;  you  haven't  any  one  in 
mind  ?  " 

She  nodded ;  her  eyes  closed ;  her  head  falling  to 
wards  her  breast  twice  in  confirming  insistence. 

His  keen  mind  ran  through  the  rather  short  list  of 
her  masculine  acquaintances,  reviewing  faces,  char 
acters,  bearings  and  positions,  wondering  which  it 
might  be,  liking  perhaps  the  process  of  wondering 
and  the  idea  of  surprising  her  by  nullifying  the  sur 
prise  which  she  had  in  store  for  him.  As  a  result  of 
his  mental  selection  Putnam  remained — a  survival 
Marvin  thought,  all  things  instantaneously  considered, 
of  the  fittest.  Putnam's  attention  to  his  daughter 


400  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

had  not  .escaped  his  shrewd,  world-wise  eyes.  On  the 
whole  he  was  satisfied  with  the  fitness  of  the  survivor. 
He  was  steady  enough ;  mercantilely  active  enough  ; 
possessed  of  common  if  not  of  uncommon  sense ;  and 
Marvin  preferred  a  poor  young  man  who  would  in 
crease  his  millions,  to  a  rich  young  man  who  would  let 
the  four  winds  blow  the  heap  in  windrows  across  the 
earth. 

"  Come,  Van,  who  is  it  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  A  young  man "  she  began. 

"  I  expected  as  much  as  that/'  he  interrupted  with 
a  short  cluck  of  a  laugh.  "  I  didn't  think  you'd  take 
an  old  man  like  me." 

"  He  isn't  like  you ;  not  the  least  bit.  I  don't  think 
you  will  approve  of  him." 

"  Hm !  You  don't  know.  I  have  an  idea  who  it 
is." 

"  You  can't  have.  It's  the  last  man  on  earth  about 
whom  you  would  think." 

"  No,  it's  the  first  man  I  thought  of.  It's  Put 
nam  !  "  he  blurted  out,  wishing  to  send  his  surprise 
in  a  storm. 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  blushed  ;  "  not  at  all." 

"  It's  Bartlett,"  and  he  named  the  second  choice  in 
his  list. 

She  shook  her  head  positively. 

"It  isn't  La  Vette?"  he  asked  tentatively. 

She  shook  her  head  solemnly. 

He  was  annoyed  at  the  insufficiency  of  his  assumed 
astuteness.  After  all  the  heart  of  a  girl  was  a  compli 
cated  affair.  "  Come,  Van,  tell  me ;  you  needn't  be 
afraid  to  tell  me,"  he  teased,  with  curious  impatience. 

She  clasped  her  fists  tightly  and  pursed  her  lips 
again.  "  It's "  she  paused. 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES     401 

"  Well,"  he  encouraged  kindly. 

"  It's  Blair." 

"Blair  who?" 

"  Blair  Carrhart,"  she  said  quickly  as  if  arrived  at 
that  point  where  the  secret  could  no  longer  be  retained 
and  she  was  glad  to  have  done  with  it. 

"  What !  "  he  shrieked.  "  Not  the  Blair  Carrhart 
out  at  the  mills  ?  '" 

"  Yes,"   she  answered,   breathing  quickly. 

He  lifted  her  from  h'm  and  stood  erect.  "  Do  you 
know  who  he  is?  Do  you  know  what  he's  done? 
He's  the  rascal  at  the  bottom  of  all  my  trouble.  He's 
the  main  cause  of  the  strike.  He's  responsible  for  the 
murder  of  the  Pinkertons  and  the  destruction  of  my 
property." 

"  I  can't  believe  it,"  she  said  firmly,  quietly,  the 
spirit  of  her  father  arising  in  her.  She  was  fighting 
him  with  his  own  weapons, — the  weapons  heredity  had 
bequeathed  to  her. 

"You  can't  believe  it!"  he  shouted.  "Don't  I 
know  it !  Haven't  I  seen  him !  Haven't  I  talked  to 
him !  He's  the  demagogue,  the  mischief-maker  that's 
leading  the  others  on !  Marry  him !  You  marry 
him?  I'm  going  to  send  the  rascal  where  he  be 
longs  !  " 

Blinded  with  rage  he  could  find  no  words  to  oust  the 
rage  that  was  blinding  him.  He  turned  up  and  down 
the  room  in  short,  broken  paces.  She  moved  towards 
him ;  he  pushed  her  away.  She  returned  to  her  chair 
and  clasped  its  arms  with  her  hands.  The  storm  was 
gathering,  thick,  dark,  portentous ;  she  was  prepared 
to  meet  its  lightning  and  brave  its  thunder.  She  forti 
fied  herself  under  the  shelter  of  Blair's  protecting 
visage. 
'26 


402  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

An  obstacle  confronted  Marvin;  Marvin  became 
Marvin  again,  assertive,  fearless,  autocratic.  There 
was  something  to  overcome  and  he  would  overcome  it ; 
how,  he  recked  not.  It  was  medicine,  tonic,  sedative 
to  his  shattered  nerves.  Obstacles,  obstacles,  obsta 
cles  were  the  stepping-stones  on  which  he  had  arisen 
to  the  commanding  height  of  his  career. 

He  brought  his  walk  to  a  close  suddenly,  wheeling 
directly  in  front  of  her. 

"  That's  a  fine  trick  of  his,  to  sneak  inside  of  my 
mills  and  cause  an  outbreak  of  dissatisfaction  and  then 
to  creep  inside  of  my  house  and  steal  my  daughter's  af 
fections.  But  I'll  thwart  him,  I'll  thwart  him  at  both 
ends ! '' 

"  It  isn't  a  trick,"  she  protested  indignantly.  "  He 
isn't  capable  of  subterfuge.  He's  a  man ;  every  inch 
a  man ;  a  strong,  great,  heroic,  generous  man.  We 
were  engaged  long  ago,  secretly,  at  college." 

"  He  had  you  announce  it  at  an  opportune  moment. 
It's  a  good  way  to  save  his  neck !  " 

"  He  never  asked  me  to  announce  it.  Mother  knew 
we  were  engaged  years  ago." 

'  You  can't  have  him,  and  that  settles  it,"  he 
shouted,  rattling  his  closed  fist  down  on  the  mahogany 
table.  The  glasses  on  the  silver  tray  clinked.  She  an 
swered  nothing.  Her  course  had  been  chosen ;  heart 
and  soul  and  head  had  declared  for  Blair,  and  only 
when  heart  ceased  to  beat,  head  to  think  and  soul  to 
cherish  its  ideals  would  her  decision  change. 

"Why  don't  you  answer!"  he  roared,  aggravated 
to  madness  by  her  silence. 

"  I  gave  him  my  answer.  I  can't  change  that.  I'm 
sorry  that — 

"  Never  mind  the  sorry  part.     You  shan't  have  him; 


THE  PEACE  OF  ORESTES     403 

my  own  flesh  and  blood  shan't  colleague  with  my 
enemy." 

She  arose  stricken  with  grief  at  the  agony  written 
on  his  face,  her  heart  open  with  sympathy  for  the  sorry 
spectacle  of  his  fury.  With  bowed  head,  with  arms 
apart,  she  moved  towards  him. 

He  pushed  her  away.  "  You  shan't  have  him,"  he 
reiterated ;  "  you  shan't  come  near  me  until  you  tell 
me  that  you  will  give  him  up." 

A  question  of  bus:ness  or  a  question  of  love,  it  was 
all  the  same  to  Marvin;  the  argument  was  to  be  won 
by  the  blood  and  iron  method ;  to  ride  rough  shod  over 
tender  feeling  was  his  manner,  when  he  rode  over 
tender  feelings  at  all. 

She  moved  towards  the  door,  her  hand  was  on  the 
bronze  handle. 

"  You  understand,  Van.  You  must  choose  between 
him  and  me." 

"  I  understand,"  she  replied  half  haughtily,  half 
sadly.  The  door  closed. 

He  sank  down  in  the  armchair  and  covered  his  worn 
face  with  his  hands.  "  I'm  alone  now,"  he  moaned, 
"  all  alone,  but " — and  his  grinding  heel  twisted  the 
rug — "  I'm  going  to  win  alone." 


XXXV 
THE  GIANT  IN  CHAINS 

THE  first  day  that  opportunity  made  it  possible, 
Evangeline  left  the  summer  resort  and  went 
to  Marvin.  Her  father's  assailment  of  Blair 
gave  her  the  first  intimation  of  the  role  he  had  played 
in  the  strike,  and  it  worried  her;  and  her  worry  in 
creased  to  the  fear  that  Blair  might  have  been  injured ; 
for  his  impetuousness  and  his  fearlessness  were  sure 
to  lead  him  where  the  danger  was  greatest. 

Love's  faith  discredited  the  fear;  love's  anxiety  ex 
aggerated  the  fear  that  love's  faith  discredited.  "  It 
couldn't  be  so,"  she  said  at  first ;  "  it  must  be  so/'  she 
said  to  herself  at  last. 

Greater  than  her  grief  for  her  dead  mother,  she 
acknowledged  to  herself  with  a  pang,  was  her  distress 
concerning  Blair.  It  is  easy  for  youth,  especially 
youth  in  love,  to  let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead. 

Day  after  day  had  slipped  away  without  bringing 
word  or  message  from  him.  He  was  rash ;  he  was 
headstrong ;  anything  might  have  happened  to  him ; 
for  Blair  aroused  would  stop  at  nothing.  Where  was 
he?  How  could  she  find  him?  Love's  faith  silenced 
love's  anxiety  with  the  triumphant  declaration,  "  Love 
will  find  a  way." 

And  love  did  find  a  way,  or  rather  a  way  was  found 
for  love.  Her  first  move  in  Marvin  was  for  the  Set- 
404 


THE  GIANT  IN  CHAINS     405 

tlement,  and  she  had  scarcely  taken  the  last  step  of 
the  movement,  when  Paul  Brodski,  who  was  waiting 
outside,  approached  her. 

"  I  have  been  waiting,  miss,  every  morning,  for  a 
long  time,  to  see  you.'' 

She  recognized  Paul.  Her  heart  filled  with  mis 
givings.  Something  had  happened  to  Blair;  some 
thing  dreadful.  He  had  come  to  warn  her,  to  break 
the  news  gently. 

"  Is  Mr.  Carrhart  hurt  ?  "  she  asked,  her  lip  trem 
bling. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Paul,  "  he  is  very  sick." 

She  started,  turned  pale ;  but  she  was  the  true 
daughter  of  her  father,  and  she  asserted  her  will, 
gathering  her  strength  for  the  emergency. 

"  Will  you  take  me  to  him  at  once?"  she  asked  com 
posedly. 

He  nodded. 

"  Hurry/'  she  said,  as  they  moved  along. 

She  urged  him  on  as  they  picked  their  way  eastward 
through  the  crowded  foreign  quarters  and  along  the 
narrow  ways  that  wound  through  the  mazes  of  tene 
ments  and  finally  up  the  flight  of  stairs  that  ran  to  the 
Ludvigs'. 

"  What  if  he  should  die  before  I  come  ?  What  if 
he  is  dead  now  ?  "  she  asked  herself  despite  herself, 
and  the  color  vanished  from  her  cheeks  in  that 
short  flight,  and  her  body  quivered.  She  could  go  no 
farther,  and  yet  she  had  so  much  farther  to  go — so 
very  much  farther  before  night  would  end  that  day. 
Oh,  why  did  those  horrible  questions  arise  to  disturb 
her  serenity,  to  sap  her  strength  when  she  had  such 
need  of  both !  How  necessary  to  him  was  a  smiling, 
hopeful  countenance,  and  she  felt  that  the  lines  fear 


406  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

wrinkled  on  her  face  were  as  shadows  reflected  from 
her  too  anxious  heart. 

"  I  am  coming  to  you,  Blair ;  I  am  coming  to  you, 
Blair,"  she  would  fain  have  shouted  aloud,  "  you  will 
wait.  You  will  grow  strong.  No,  you  shall  not 
die !  "  She  visualized  a  wan  face,  peering  up  with 
unfathomable  love  at  her — the  strong,  powerful  fea 
tures  that  would  make  the  sordid  surroundings  beauti 
ful  with  the  strength  and  power  they  radiated.  She 
heeded  not  where  they  went,  noticed  not  the  groups 
of  the  curious  that  wondered  what  this  delicate  young 
lady  in  her  fashionable  mourning  gown  was  doing  in 
their  midst ;  she  saw  only,  as  in  a  dream,  a  bed  that 
floated  in  space,  holding  in  its  sheets  a  moribund  in 
valid,  and  towards  that  hovering  vision. she  was  mov 
ing  and  moving,  and  away  from  her  moved  and  moved 
the  hovering  vision. 

At  the  door  of  the  tenement  she  clenched  her  fists 
tightly  and  threw  her  head  back ;  when  hands  and 
head  assumed  their  natural  position  a  cheerful  smile 
arched  her  mouth  and  brightened  her  countenance. 
Paul,  turning,  saw  and  wondered ;  he  knew  not  what 
the  smile  cost. 

There  was  no  ornament  in  the  room  she  entered, 
not  even  an  attempt  at  decoration,  no  carpet  on  the 
clean  and  scrubbed  floor,  no  picture  on  the  wall ;  a 
row  of  trunks,  pushed  against  the  walls,  was  all  that 
patched  the  cheerless  nakedness.  Three  of  the  Polish 
boarders  were  seated  on  the  trunks,  puffing  at  their 
long  pipes.  They  withdrew  respectfully,  making  for 
the  street. 

"  What  a  place  for  him,"  was  her  first  thought. 

Paul  disappeared  in  one  of  the-  cabinets  off  the 
dining-room,  where  Blair  lay.  Evangeline  sat  on  a 


THE  GIANT  IN  CHAINS     407 

trunk,  tapping  its  side  with  a  restless  and  nervous  foot. 
She  arose  and  paced  up  and  down  the  room.  Her 
cheeks  were  hot ;  her  breath  was  short.  She  strug 
gled  for  equanimity,  she  pleaded  and  argued  with 
herself,  as  with  another,  for  calmness.  Argument 
and  plea  were  ol  no  avail ;  her  excitement  grew  greater 
with  every  second.  She  felt  impelled  to  push  open 
that  door  and  rush  to  his  side.  Why  didn't  Paul  hur 
ry  ?  She  could  stand  it  no  longer ;  she  would  become 
distracted.  Her  temple?  throbbed ;  her  heart  cleaved 
to  her  side ;  breathing  was  painful. 

Paul  came  out.  He  had  been  away  but  a  minute ; 
to  her  it  had  seemed  an  hour ;  no,  it  was  an  hour.  He 
informed  her  that  the  doctor  was  closeted  with  Blair, 
dressing  his  wound.  He  would  be  out  in  a  minute  or 
two  and  perhaps  she  could  speak  to  him  then.  Yes, 
he  was  no  worse;  maybe  a  trifle  better.  However,  the 
doctor  would  give  her  an  exact  account. 

Again  the  long  waiting,  the  minutes  that  were  hours. 
Oh,  what  was  happening  in  there !  How  long  before 
her  eyes  could  satisfy  the  burning  desire  of  her  heart  ? 
Her  cheeks  became  hotter  and  hotter;  the  beating  of 
her  temples  was  fiercer.  The  door  of  Blair's  cabinet 
became  animate ;  she  talked  to  it  as  if  it  were  a  keeper 
that  separated  him  from  her.  "  Open,  open,"  she  kept 
saying  to  herself ;  "  let  me  in." 

She  seated  herself  on  the  trunk  again  and  pressed 
her  uncertain  hands  on  its  cover  and  prayed;  not  a 
prayer  of  words,  no  invocation  to  her  mysterious  Mak 
er  ;  but  a  silent,  unphrased  supplication  of  her  weaker 
to  her  stronger  self  for  courage  and  calmness  and  con 
trol. 

She  shut  her  eyes ;  the  room  danced  and  reeled ;  her 
senses  swam.  Oh,  the  agony  of  these  waiting  minutes, 


4o8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

long  drawn  out.  If  she  could  only  be  in  there  with 
him,  helping  him  to  fight  his  battle  for  life ;  she  would 
be  brave,  she  would  be  calm ;  she  knew  it. 

The  doctor  came  out,  glancing  at  his  silver  watch, 
murmuring  something  about  other  calls.  He  was 
abashed,  like  the  others,  before  this  young  lady, 
ashamed  of  his  broken  English. 

He  floundered  painfully  through  his  sea  of  jargon 
to  explain  that  .Blair  was  very  sick,  dangerously  so ; 
there  was  no  use  in  denying  it.  Blood  poisoning  had 
threatened  to  set  in  several  times,  so  far  they  had 
warded  the  danger  off.  If  it  came — he  shrugged  his 
shoulders.  Blair  had  frequent  lapses  of  unconscious 
ness,  but  that  need  not  appal  her,  it  signified  nothing 
in  itself.  She  might  go  in,  but  she  must  be  cautious; 
however,  he  would  leave  that  to  her  common  sense; 
doubtlessly  she  had  had  experience  in  the  sickroom 
before. 

His  explanation  was  unendurably  long.  Politeness 
held  her  there ;  impulse  was  dragging  her  to  Blair. 
She  entered  his  room  on  tiptoe. 

How  wan,  how  pale,  how  thin  was  he!  She  had 
prepared  herself  for  a  change ;  but  the  change  she  saw 
staggered  her  preparation.  The  shadow  of  the  mask 
of  death  was  on  his  sunken  face. 

His  eyes  opened,  staring  vacantly,  as  if  he  did  not 
recognize  her ;  as  if  she  were  an  object  that  shut  off 
the  range  of  his  vision,  like  the  wall.  She  stood  still, 
grief-stricken  by  his  irrecognition.  A  faint  smile 
wavered  across  his  mouth.  He  knew  her  then ! 

"  Van,"  he  murmured,  barely  audible. 

She  fell  on  her  knees  beside  him.  His  hand  drooped 
on  her  head.  She  smiled  ;  tears  sought  an  unheeded 
way  down  her  cheeks;  it  was  the  joy  wrung  from  that 


THE  GIANT  IN  CHAINS     409 

one  moment  when  the  excruciation  of  pain  turns  to 
bliss. 

"  Blair,  Blair/'  she  called,  unable  to  contain  herself, 
'"  I  am  here — Van  !  You  know  me,  don't  you  ?  I  will 
never  leave  you,  never,  never !  " 

His  hand  lay  on  her  hair  with  a  warmer  pressure. 
"  Van,"  he  whispered  again. 

She  took  his  hand  in  hers  and  pressed  her  burning 
kisses  on  its  flesh  as  if  eager  to  send  through  it  the 
life  and  the  love  that  animated  her.  He  groaned  from 
sudden  pain.  It  pierced  her  like  an  arrow,  like  ten 
thousand  arrows.  He  groaned  again,  deeper,  louder, 
as  with  inexpressible  anguish. 

She  could  endure  it  no  longer.  She  would  swoon 
away.  She  would  die.  She  arose,  refusing  to  surren 
der  herself  to  her  feeling ;  it  was  the  luxury  that  cow 
ardice  granted  emotion.  She  kissed  his  brow,  his 
cheeks,  his  lips, — each  kiss  might  be  the  last  that  she 
could  give  her  Blair  in  life. 

His  eyes  opened  again,  wide,  flaring,  as  if  desiring 
to  embrace  the  warm  universe  of  life  and  love  before 
they  closed  to  the  darkness  and  burning  fever  again. 
She  leaned  over  him ;  his  hand  pressed  hers  knowing 
ly  ;  he  drank  in  the  breath  of  her  nostrils ;  his  face  be 
came  peaceful,  happy.  Clasping  her  hands  under  her 
chin,  she  thanked  God  for  it  in  silence. 

His  eyes  closed  again.  She  burst  into  tears  and  ran 
from  the  room.  In  a  few  minutes  she  was  the  abso 
lute  mistress  of  herself;  and  she  proceeded  to  a  me 
thodical  arrangement  of  what  she  considered  best 
for  his  comfort  and  convalescence.  She  despatched 
Paul  with  the  delivery  of  a  hastily  scribbled  note  to  a 
surgeon  of  repute  in  Chicago.  She  arranged  with 
Mrs.  Ludvig  for  the  dismissal  of  all  her  boarders  and 


4io  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

silenced  her  objections  with  the  display  of  a  purse 
well  filled ;  and  she  made  each  of  the  departing  board 
ers  understand  that  his  going  was  conducive  to  Blair's 
recovery. 

She  insisted  upon  gaining  every  breath  of  air  for 
Blair  that  could  be  had  in  that  stifling  July  atmos 
phere,  heated  to  the  point  of  suffocation  by  the  low 
ceiling  of  the  crowded  tenement ;  and  nothing  would 
satisfy  her  but  the  moving  of  his  bed  into  the  larger 
room.  Ice  was  sent  for,  screens  were  placed  in  the  win 
dows  ;  luxuries  of  every  description ;  all  that  her  dain 
tiness  of  taste  could  devise,  found  their  way  into  the 
house.  Finally  she  sent  to  the  Settlement  for  her 
clothes  and  she  prepared  to  make  her  permanent  home 
in  the  hovel  that  she  might  be  near  Blair  night  and 
day. 

She  was  an  unprofessional  nurse ;  but  she  told  her 
self  again  and  again  that  the  eager  willingness  of  love 
would  soon  command  the  secrets  of  the  profession ; 
and  determinedly  she  set  about  to  save  her  royal  lover 
from  the  enemy  who  had  no  respect  for  kings. 

Her  father  would  have  been  proud  of  Evangeline 
had  he  been  there  to  see. 


XXXVI 
A  POLISH  WEDDING 

BLAIR'S  fight  for  life  was  desperate  and  stub 
born.  There  were  long  days  of  doubt  for 
Evangeline  and  still  longer  nights  of  sleep 
less  fear;  but  the  crisis  passed  and  left  him  with 
enough  breath  in  his  lungs  to  continue  the  battle. 
Muscles  of  iron,  veins  through  which  no  water  ran, 
a  constitution  of  adamant,  made  no  easy  enemy  for 
death. 

Looking  down  from  her  window  in  the  tenement, 
Evangeline  witnessed  a  never-ceasing  protean  industry 
within  her  father's  mills.  Boats  of  every  description 
landed  hosts  of  non-union  mechanics — masons,  car 
penters,  machinists  and  millwrights — on  the  grounds  of 
the  Company.  The  reconstruction  of  the  machinery 
and  the  furnaces  that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  mob 
was  going  forward  on  the  same  vast  scale  which  char 
acterized  everything  that  Henry  Marvin  directed.  The 
works  went  up  with  almost  the  same  fabulous  rapidity 
with  which  they  had  come  down. 

The  militia  still  presented  an  almost  solid  front 
around  the  mill  fence ;  the  white  tents  of  the  camp  still 
flapped  in  the  western  winds  blowing  across  the  prai 
ries.  The  town  was  still  under  patrpl ;  the  saloons 
were  watched  closely.  Bayonets  dispersed  crowds 

411 


4i2  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

quicker  than  they  gathered ;  and  the  strikers  were 
obliged  to  look  on  helpless  but  defiant. 

Temporary  barracks  were  erected  on  the  slag  piles ; 
crude  wooden  buildings  wherein  the  Company  intended 
to  shelter  and  feed  the  non-union  mill  hands,  soon  to 
be  imported.  From  the  top  windows  of  their  tene 
ments  on  M  street  the  foreigners  could  look  within 
the  mills  and  behold  the  building  of  these  homes  for 
their  enemies  going  on,  and  their  defiance  became  rage 
— the  rage  of  a  caged  beast  beating  against  iron  bars. 

Suave  agents  of  the  Company  were  still  engaged  in 
every  large  city  in  a  search  for  recruits,  experienced 
or  inexperienced,  skilled  or  unskilled,  it  made  no  dif 
ference  :  the  mills  were  to  be  turned  into  a  school 
where  any  one  who  would  could  learn.  The  enrol 
ment  was  tediously  slow  at  first ;  the  treatment  ac 
corded  the  Pinkertons  made  the  bravest  hesitate;  but 
gradually  from  the  vast  army  of  the  unemployed- 
clerks,  unsuccessful  shopkeepers,  mechanics,  profes 
sional  men  who  had  found  their  professions  more  hon 
orable  than  lucrative — an  army  of  employees  was  se 
cured.  To  live  men  are  ever  ready  to  risk  life. 

Even  Henry  Marvin  was  satisfied  with  the  rapidity 
of  the  progress;  with  a  keen  smile  of  satisfaction  he 
watched  the  rebuilding  from  the  windows  of  his 
office.  The  great  mills  would  soon  groan  and  sweat 
as  their  powerful  jaws  masticated  the  heavy  loads ; 
but  a  few  days  and  smoke  would  curl  out  of  the  cupola- 
furnaces,  and  flames  would  flare  from  the  chimneys 
of  the  blast.  The  victory  was  easily  his  and  he  would 
dictate  terms  of  peace  that  would  make  the  recalci 
trants  flinch  as  they  accepted. 

However,  the  leaders  were  confident ;  and  the  Ad 
visory  Committee  distributed  words  of  comfort  and 


A  POLISH  WEDDING         413 

encouragement  with  the  orders  doled  out  on  butcher 
and  grocer.  Ultimate  triumph,  they  declared,  was 
theirs,  no  matter  what  the  temporary  victory  of  capi 
tal.  Unskilled  labor,  they  held,  could  never  execute 
such  technical  work  with  any  success,  and  skilled  la 
bor  was  not  to  be  secured  outside  of  the  unions.  Be 
sides,  the  Company's  agreement  with  the  government 
demanded  the  delivery  of  the  plate  early  in  November, 
and  without  the  assistance  of  the  adept  union  hands 
the  fulfilment  of  the  contract  was  impossible. 

The  rank  and  file  were  sustained  by  the  cheering 
words  of  the  leader  and,  despite  restriction  of  appe 
tite,  abnegation  and  even  want,  they  held  out,  believ 
ing  in  the  promises  of  the  Advisory  Committee  as  a 
thing  that  could  not  fail  to  come  to  pass.  Excitement 
cannot  withstand  the  stress  of  a  long  strain,  and  grad 
ually  the  keen  edge  of  it  wore  off,  filed  down,  as  it 
were,  into  the  flatter  surface  of  a  dogged  resistance. 
And  life  moved  on  in  much  the  same  grooves  as  before 
the  strike  began,  save  that  the  enforced  idleness  gave 
rise  to  more  frequent  bickerings  and  fights. 

Lack  of  occupation  gave  Michael  Brodski  far  more 
time  for  Irma  Ludvig's  company ;  indeed  all  of  his 
time  was  spent  with  her ;  and,  as  a  result,  both  of  them 
were  growing  impatient  for  marriage.  The  catastro 
phes  of  the  strike  had  impressed  both  of  them  with  the 
uncertainty  of  human  existence,  and  Irma  was  anxious 
that  Michael  marry  her  to-day  lest  he  be  killed  to-mor 
row.  Lack  of  funds  was  no  serious  obstacle ;  for  they 
might  as  well  starve  together  as  starve  singly;  and  be 
sides,  a  wedding  is  in  itself  a  financial  investment  for  a 
Polish  couple.  Lastly,  if  worst  came  to  worst,  Michael 
could  leave  town  and  seek  work  elsewhere. 

When  Mrs.  Brodski  heard  of  her  son's  intention  she 


4H  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

became  frantic ;  it  was  as  if  the  last  ray  of  light  had 
been  taken  from  her  life  and  she  had  been  left  in  total 
darkness.  Her  sons  were  deserting  her  when  she 
needed  them  most.  Paul  and  Jan  she  saw  but  rarely ; 
it  was  quite  evident  that  to  them  meetings  of  one  kind 
and  another  were  of  more  importance  than  their  lone 
mother ;  and  Michael  was  to  forsake  her  in  her  old  age 
to  bask  in  the  smiles  of  more  enticing  youth.  Home- 
lessness,  starvation,  perhaps  the  poorhouse,  were  all 
that  the  future  held  in  store  for  her. 

At  the  wedding,  which  was  celebrated  in  the  large 
hall  over  the  Dumb-Bell,  she  was  a  tragic  and  melan 
choly  figure,  thrown  into  sharp  relief  by  the  unre 
strained  joviality  which  ruled  the  hour.  With  little 
Adam,  now  squalling,  now  sleeping  in  her  arms,  she 
sat  in  her  corner,  solemn  and  lorn,  shrinking  from 
conversation,  receiving  congratulations  with  a  bad 
grace,  unbefitting  the  occasion. 

On  the  stage  in  the  rear  of  the  room  the  six  musi 
cians  were  playing  their  most  enlivening  dance  music, 
smiling  and  smirking  as  if  their  hearts  at  least  were 
beating  to  the  swift  measures  of  the  tune.  Every  one 
danced,  bent  upon  enjoyment,  forgetful  of  the  misery 
of  yesterday  and  the  worry  of  to-morrow  and  the  day 
thereafter.  It  was  good  to  see  how  easily  sorrow  and 
grief  are  forgotten,  and  how  superior  after  all  is  laugh 
ter  to  tears ! 

Old  men  whirled  away  with  young  women  and 
young  men  whirled  away  with  old  women ;  for  youth 
and  old  age  may  dance  though  they  cannot  live  to 
gether.  Even  the  children  were  sliding  across  the  slip 
pery  floor,  pulling  each  other  by  ropes. 

Mrs.  Majewski,  who  was  eighty-two,  polkaed  about 
with  Mr.  Kuflewski,  who  was  eighty-five,  and  the 


A  POLISH  WEDDING        415 

others  ceased  their  gyrations  to  watch  the  octogena 
rians  try  to  do  it.  A  few  steps  robbed  the  ancient  cou 
ple  of  their  short  breath  and  they  sat  down  amid  a 
vociferous  clapping  of  hands,  feeling,  as  their  wrinkled 
but  smiling  faces  told,  that  they  were  far  younger 
than  their  years. 

"  I  tell  you,"  said  the  veteran,  purring  hard  for  wind, 
;<  that  we  sat  down  too  soon.  I'm  not  out  of  breath, 
tiot  a  bit.  It's  my  asthma." 

"  Yes,''  answered  the  grandam,  "  we  could  manage 
it  nicely  if  you  only  had  my  rheumatism." 

"  Na  Zdrowie  !  Na  Zdrowie !  "  "  To  your  health  ! 
To  your  health !  ''  resounded  from  the  bar  that  stood 
in  a  corner  of  the  hall.  Paul  and  Jan  were  there, 
clinking  thick  glasses  with  all  comers.  Liquor  and  ci 
gars  were  free,  and  every  one  was  equally  free  in  in 
sisting  that  every  one  else  have  a  drink  and  a  cigar. 
Michael,  whose  sprig  of  myrtle  on  his  black  coat  pro 
claimed  him  groom,  was  urging  the  guests  to  take 
quicker  and  better  advantage  of  his  hospitality. 

"How  is  everything?"  he  asked  of  Paul. 

"  Everything's  all  right,"  said  Paul,  rather  patron 
izingly,  "  except  the  whisky." 

"What's  the  matter  with  that?" 

"  It  isn't  half  strong  enough,"  answered  Paul. 

"  Well,  drink  twice  as  much  of  it,  then,"  advised 
Michael  seriously. 

Father  Kozma  and  his-  good-looking  acolyte  arose  to 
leave.  The  musicians  stepped  clown  from  the  stage 
and  ranged  themselves  about  the  holy  men,  playing 
the  national  Polish  air  lustily.  The  others  fell  behind 
the  band.  The  melody  over,  Irma  stepped  forward  to 
receive  the  priest's  final  blessing.  Her  olive  cheeks, 
blushing  deeply,  formed  a  striking  foil  to  her  black 


4i 6  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

hair,  her  white  dress  and  the  short  white  veil,  with  its 
sprig  of  myrtle.  Father  Kozma  moved  towards  the 
door ;  the  children  pursued  him,  leaving  their  play,  to 
kiss  his  outstretched  hands. 

All  was  ready  now  for  the  chief  feature  of  the  even 
ing — a  combination  of  pleasure  and  business,  which 
was  at  once  the  excuse  and  reason  for  all  the  festivity 
that  preceded  it.  Jan  and  Paul,  in  their  shirt-sleeves, 
seated  themselves  at  a  table  piled  high  with  plates ; 
near  the  pile  of  china  stood  a  box  of  cigars  and  a  bot 
tle  of  wine.  Two  stalwart  policemen,  representing 
law  and  order  (their  presence  had  been  supernumer 
ary  thus  far),  drew  near  the  scene  of  action. 

The  music  started,  veloce,  and  the  dancers  whirled 
away  to  its  notes,  without  reversing,  accentuating  each 
evolution  of  the  endless  circle  with  a  hard  stamp  of 
the  right  foot.  The  men  pushed  their  hats  back  on 
their  heads  farther,  puffed  serenely  at  their  cigars,  and 
pirouetted  in  quicker  and  quicker  unison  with  their 
partners,  who  were  clad  in  soiled  lawn  dresses  and 
soiled  white  slippers. 

A  cousin  of  the  bride  made  his  obeisance,  and 
twirled  with  her  until  they  confronted  the  table.  The 
music  ceased  with  a  start.  He  fumbled  in  his  pocket, 
fished  up  a  silver  dollar  and  sent  it  hurling  with  might 
and  main  against  the  plates.  Fragments  of  the  china 
flew  in  all  directions.  The  broken  bits  were  thrown 
into  a  basket;  Jan  put  the  dollar  inside  of  a  cigar 
box. 

The  music  began  swiftly ;  the  bride  and  her  cousin 
whisked  away  and  returned  to  the  table.  This  time 
he  lifted  his  arm  high,  feinted  and  laid  a  paper  dol 
lar  on  the  plate.  In  this  fashion  he  ridded  himself  of 
five  dollars  and  exhausted  his  maneuvers  to  the  dam- 


A  POLISH  WEDDING        417 

age  of  the  crockery ;  then  he  left,  first  regaling  himself 
with  a  cigar  and  a  glass  of  wine. 

The  bridesmaid,  whose  especial  duty  it  was  to  see 
that  hay  be  made  while  the  sun  shone,  guided  the  next 
gallant  forward  to  the  tired  bride,  panting  and  hot  of 
cheek. 

Irma  Ludvig's  cousin  had  scarcely  retreated  before 
a  friend  approached  him. 

"  How  much  did  you  give  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Five,"  came  the  response.  He  felt  in  his  depleted 
pocket  and  a  look  of  surprise  wavered  across  his  dull 
face. 

"  What's  the  trouble  ?  "  asked  the  other. 

"  I  thought  I  threw  a  counterfeit  dollar  but  I  see  I 
have  it  yet ;  so  it  cost  me  six  dollars  instead  of  five." 

"  That's  all  right ;  you  can  give  me  the  bad  dollar." 

"  All  right ;  and  you  can  give  me  a  good  dollar  in  its 
place." 

"  Not  much/'  refused  the  friend. 

"  I  can't  see  what  the  difference  is  to  you,"  ejacu 
lated  the  cousin  of  the  bride,  angered. 

"  I'd  rather  give  a  good  dollar/'  explained  the 
friend,  "  as  long  as  it  won't  cost  me  any  more." 

"  I'll  let  you  have  it  for  fifty  cents."' 

"  I'll  take  it." 

Man  after  man  claimed  a  dance  with  the  poor  bride, 
fatigued,  scant  of  breath,  lim'ping  in  her  tight  shoes, 
each  actuated  by  the  noble  impulse  to  start  a  comrade 
in  life  by  contributing  according  to  his  meager  ability. 
Jan  and  Paul  counted  over  seventy-five  dollars  in  the 
box  and  the  fund  was  slowly  growing.  The  gener 
osity  was  astounding  when  one  considered  what  unre 
lenting  toil  every  penny  had  cost  the  donors,  and  what 
the  purchasing  power  of  a  dollar  meant  to  those  unfor- 


4i  8  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

tunate  folk  out  of  work  and  with  a  long  siege  of  hun 
ger  and  deprivation  still  staring  them  in  the  face.  No 
one  but  the  givers  knew  from  what  odd  hiding-places 
and  secret  nooks  that  money  was  abstracted  and  with 
what  misgiving  and  regrets  the  little  savings  were  dis 
turbed. 

At  midnight,  Irma,  so  weary  and  worn  that  she 
could  scarcely  drag  herself  through  the  ordeal,  was 
enjoying  a  brief  respite  beside  her  husband,  who  was 
rejoiced  over  the  prospect  of  a  fortune  newly  found, 
when  some  one  darted  into  the  hall  and  shouted  at  the 
top  of  a  screeching  voice : 

'  The  scabs  are  inside  the  mill !  The  blast-furnaces 
are  going !  The  mills  have  started  !  " 

And  with  this  warning  and  stirring  cry  the  Paul 
Revere  of  the  industrial  revolution  disappeared  to 
shout  the  same  battle-cry  afar  through  the  town. 

Crowding  and  shoving  for  place,  they  ran  to  the 
windows  and  looked  out.  It  was  true !  Clouds  of 
black  smoke,  spouts  of  red  flame,  told  but  too  plainly 
that  the  mills  were  in  full  swing.  Others  were  there 
to  take  their  places,  to  steal  the  bread  from  their 
mouths ! 

Soldiery  or  no  soldiery,  death  to  the  contrary,  the 
thing  was  not  to  be  endured !  It  was  not  for  them  to 
sit  with  folded  hands  and  starve  while  others  waxed 
fat  on  their  sustenance. 

They  rushed  out  in  the  street  as  they  were,  in  wed 
ding  costume.  The  groom  and  his  virgin  bride  hurtled 
forward  with  the  rest ;  Mrs.  Brodski  deposited  little 
Adam,  sound  asleep,  in  a  corner  and  joined  the  ranks. 
Jan  and  Paul  left  the  precious  cigar-box  in  charge  of 
the  police,  who  gave  no  sign  of  interference,  and' 
dashed  out  into  the  open. 


A  POLISH  WEDDING        419 

Already  a  crowd  was  gathered  at  the  fence,  looking 
the  lines  of  bristling  muskets  in  the  face.  Lawn 
dresses  were  trailed  through  the  mud  and  white  slip 
pers  were  stamped  in  the  mire.  Where  Michael  went 
there  went  his  bride. 

The  thick  red  flames  rolling  towards  the  sky  angered 
them;  the  sight  of  it  maddened.  They  cursed  it  as  if 
it  were  human  enemy.  It  symbolized  all  the  forces 
that  were  pitted  against  the  side  of  labor.  The  lurid 
flames  from  the  stacks,  the  translucent  glare  from  the 
converters,  shone  athwart  the  fantastic  canvas  with  a 
weirdness  suitable  to  the  strange  composition. 

The  crowd  augmented ;  cohorts,  crushing  in  from 
every  direction,  pressed  the  first  ranks  forward  even 
against  the  teeth  of  the  glistening  muskets.  The  veil 
of  the  bride,  with  its  sprig  of  myrtle,  was  torn  from 
her  head  and  trampled  in  the  mud ;  and  Michael's 
best  coat  was  fairly  torn  from  his  body  as  he  lifted  a 
sheltering  arm  to  protect  her.  The  lawn  dresses  were 
ripped  and  severed ;  white  slippers  were  lost  in  the 
mud.  Crying,  Irma  lifted  her  veil  and  the  sprig  of 
crushed  myrtle  out  of  the  muck. 

Their  helplessness,  their  lack  of  power  to  meet  the 
opposing  armament,  drove  the  mob,  ever  increasing,  to 
frenzy.  They  jammed  and  tugged  and  squeezed 
nearer  and  nearer  the  lines  of  muskets.  The  soldiery 
around  the  fence  was  much  like  a  steel  saw,  standing 
at  rest,  showing  its  strong  teeth  to  logs  just  out  of 
reach. 

Forgetful  of  the  serious  consequences  that  had  fol 
lowed  their  last  jeering  attack  on  the  militia,  the  mob 
began  a  desultory  throwing  of  sticks  and  stones  and 
mud.  Winslow,  Bach,  McNaughton  and  the  others 
came  forth  to  plead  and  argue  for  peace ;  but  they 


42o  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

might  as  well,  and  perhaps  better,  have  remained 
home  in  so  far  as  the  quieting  effect  of  their  words 
went. 

"  You  are  a  nice  one,  you  are,  Brodski,''  complained 
Winslow,  working  his  way  forward  to  Michael,  "  to 
leave  the  Advisory  Committee  and  join  the  others  to 
work  against  us." 

;<  You  go  back,  Mr.  Winslow,  and  let  me  alone," 
was  the  only  answer  that  Michael  vouchsafed. 

Mrs.  Brodski,  her  hair  streaming  Maenad-like  over 
her  eyes,  was  shaking  her  fist  in  the  face  of  one  of  the 
soldiers. 

"  You  again  ?  "  said  he  commiseratingly.  "  You  had 
better  get  away  from  here,  or  you  will  be  killed." 

She  greeted  his  kindly  warning  with  a  torrent  of 
ribald  oaths. 

The  captain  looked  on  patiently,  with  fine  restraint; 
his  heart  was  with  those  poor  fellows ;  he  would  rather 
a  thousand  times  have  lifted  his  muskets  with  than 
against  them ;  but  patience  had  its  limits  and  the  mob 
was  growing  dangerous ;  the  lives  of  his  soldiers  were 
threatened. 

"  Fix  bayonets,"  came  the  order  at  last.  The  steel 
saw  was  getting  ready  to  revolve,  .but  the  log  would 
not  budge ;  it  pushed  nearer  the  protruding  teeth. 

"It's  our  last  chance,  men,"  called  somebody;  "if 
we  lose  this  time  all  is  lost.  We  might  as  well  die  as 
starve.  Stand  your  ground.  Break  into  the  mills  and 
kill  the  scabs  !  " 

That  opprobrious  term  always  incited  them,  goaded 
them  to  desperation.  A  roar  as  of  the  thunders, 
"  Scab !  Scab !  Scab !  "  went  up  from  all  sides.  If  they 
could  have  but  reached  the  men  who  were  supplanting 
them  they  would  have  rent  them  limb  from  limb.  The 


A  POLISH  WEDDING        421 

novices  cowered  at  their  strange  work,  wondering  if 
the  militia  would  prove  ample  protection.  Some  were 
for  desertion  and  flight,  but  the  majority  preferred  the 
evil  whereof  they  knew. 

Stones  were  hurled  against  the  fences  and  at  the 
troops.  One  luckless  wight,  struck  in  the  temple,  fell 
to  the  ground.  The  disaster  encouraged  the  fanatics. 
After  all,  their  powers  for  destruction  were  great. 
They  would  use  them  to  the  uttermost.  "  On !  On !  " 
"  Inside !  "  "  Scab !  "  "  Death  rather  than  starvation !  " 
"  Kill  or  be  killed!" — the  cries  were  miscellaneous  and 
desultory  enough,  but  the  common  feeling  that  elicited 
them  was  not  to  be  mistaken. 

The  darkness  and  the  smoke  that  hid  the  stars  were 
lit  up,  ignited  by  the  flames  rising  from  the  stacks  of 
the  blasts  like  steady  streams  from  a  geyser,  and  the 
faces  purpling  with  rage  were  shown  in  all  their  rruer- 
cilessness. 

"  Charge !  "  came  the  order.  The  saw  was  set  in 
revolution.  The  mob  swayed  and  broke.  The  women 
alone  did  not  retreat,  insulting  the  soldiery  with  un 
translatable  oaths.  They  were  loath,  even  the  most  un 
sympathetic  ones,  to  injure  a  woman,  and  the  terma 
gants,  relying  on  their  gallantry,  took  advantage 
of  it. 

The  crowd  gathered  again,  reinforced,  more  deter 
mined  than  ever,  a  revolver  or  two,  ominous  gas-pipes 
discernible,  here  and  there,  in  uplifted  hands.  Fear 
fully  the  subalterns  eyed  their  commander.  They  were 
being  bandied  like  toy  soldiers  and  they  could  stand 
the  maltreatment  no  longer. 

The  captain  gnawed  at  his  mustache,  distressed  to 
trie  point  of  prostration.  He  was  brave  enough ;  phy 
sical  fear  he  knew  not;  but  to  shoot  those  rebellious 


422  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

toilers  down — the  very  thought  revolted  and  sickened 
him.  It  wasn't  six  months  ago  that  the  members  of 
his  own  craft,  the  cabinet-makers,  struck  for  higher 
wages  and  shorter  hours.  And  now — no,  not  if  it 
could  be  helped,  would  he  kill  his  brethren.  He  prayed 
that  death  would  relieve  him  of  the  responsibility. 

Death  all  but  answered  his  prayer ;  a  gas-pipe,  sput 
tering  with  a  lit  fuse,  carrying  a  charge  of  dynamite 
in  its  belly,  whizzed  at  his  feet.  He  stamped  the  fuse 
out.  His  subordinates  looked  at  him  in  amazement. 
Why  didn't  the  command  to  fire  come?  The  minute 
was  critical.  They  were  being  crushed  against  the 
fence.  Seditious  talk  was  rife.  The  captain  groaned 
inwardly  and  gnawed  at  his  mustache ;  he  thought  of 
sending  for  reinforcements — that  would  be  the  easiest 
way  out  of  the  awful  quandary. 

A  revolver  was  fired  by  one  of  the  steel  workers. 
A  bomb  shrieked  and  burst  in  mid  air,  bits  of  iron 
scattering  like  the  bejeweled  insets  of  an  exploding 
sky-rocket.  Some  of  the  soldiers  were  injured,  not 
dangerously,  but  enough  to  increase  their  own  exas 
peration  and  the  apprehension  of  the  others. 

The  lack  of  resistance  encouraged  the  mob;  the  fa 
miliarity  with  the  bayonet  points  bred  nothing  but  a 
mild  contempt. 

"  Inside !  "  "  Kill  the  scabs  !  "  "  Throw  them  inside 
the  furnaces !  "  and  previsioning  vengeance  and  vic 
tory,  they  jammed  forward  in  unison,  with  the  vigor  of 
the  mad.  One  was  impaled  through  the  shoulder  on  a 
bayonet. 

An  unremitting  shower  of  stones  poured  over  the 
heads  of  the  chafing  soldiery,  at  their  sides,  at  the:r 
feet,  striking  often,  falling  amuck  still  more  often. 

"  Take    aim ! "    called    the  captain,    unresolved    no 


A  POLISH  WEDDING         423 

longer.  There  was  nothing  left  but  that.  God  help 
them,  they  would  leave  him  no  choice. 

The  mob  jeered.  "  Inside  the  fences !  ''  was  the  per 
sistent  cry.  They  were  determined  upon  it ;  let  the 
bullets  fly ;  for  vengeance  they  were  willing  to  pay  the 
price  of  death. 

The  white-haired  general  came  galloping  along.  He 
had  been  aroused  by  the  uproar.  He  wheeled  and 
halted.  The  blast  flames  threw  his  silvery  locks 
and  his  fine  figure  out  against  the  darkness  like  a  well- 
molded  bas-relief.  His  practised  eye  reached  out 
and  took  in  the  situation  as  quickly  as  an  adept  hand 
reaches  out  and  catches  a  ball. 

"What  does  this  dallying  mean?"  he  thundered. 
"  You  are  not  out  on  parade.  You  are  disobeying  or 
ders,  sir.  Command  your  men  to  fire !  " 

The  muskets  rattled  and  roared.  The  crowd  broke 
and  ran  pell-mell.  The  last  battle  was  fought  and 
lost. 


XXXVII 
SIEGE 

IN  the  first  day  of  August  the  Company  posted 
notices  throughout  Marvin,  declaring  that  it 
would  receive  "  individual "  applications  for  em 
ployment  until  the  tenth  of  the  month  from  all  its 
former  workmen  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  riot 
ing:  after  that  date  all  vacancies  would  be  filled  by 
outsiders. 

The  strikers  treated  the  manifesto  with  contemptu 
ous  inattention ;  unheeded,  the  prescribed  time  ran  by, 
despite  the  fact  that  boat  after  boat  was  landing  its 
cargo  of  unskilled  laborers  within  the  mills. 

Frequent  and  wild  alarms  summoned  the  soldiers ; 
reports  of  attacks  from  the  rear  found  their  way  into 
the  encampment ;  bugles  blew ;  drums  beat ;  skirmish 
lines  were  thrown  out ;  picket  lines  were  doubled ;  but 
the  reports  always  proved  unfounded,  and  this  much 
ado  was  about  nothing. 

Often  non-union  men,  finding  confinement  irksome, 
and  yearning  for  the  enjoyment  to  be  found  without 
the  mills  only,  ventured  into  the  town ;  usually  they 
paid  for  their  boldness  with  broken  heads  and  bruised 
bodies ;  one  or  two  never  returned.  But  the  strikers 
themselves  were  quick  to  recognize  the  futility  of  this 
cruel  infliction  of  sporadic  punishment,  and  they  were 
anxious  to  use  the  more  efficacious  method  of  moral 

424 


SIEGE  425 

persuasion,  of  gaining  an  entrance  within  the  mills  to 
convince  the  host  of  non-unionists  that  they  were  pur 
suing  a  course  deadly  to  the  ultimate  good  of  the 
brotherhood  of  labor. 

The  Advisory  Committee  still  placed  implicit  reli 
ance  on  the  inability  of  the  unskilled  hands  to  fulfil 
the  Company's  contract  with  the  government.  More 
over  it  was  hoped  that  politics  would  come  to  the  aid 
of  their  weakened  resources ;  for  the  dependence  of  the 
North-Western  mills  on  a  high  tariff  must  induce  Mar 
vin  to  leniency  at  this  critical  time,  when  the  fate  of 
the  presidency  itself  hung  in  a  balance,  quivering. 
McNaughton  was  despatched  to  New  York  to  confer 
in  secret  with  the  powers  of  the  Republican  National 
Committee. 

McNaughton  had  scarcely  departed  on  his  mission 
before  Marvin  fired  the  heaviest  gun  in  his  artillery, 
as  if  he  had  seen  the  priming  of  labor's  toy  pistol  and 
were  mocking  at  its  childish  inefficiency.  Warrants 
were  issued  for  the  arrest  of  Blair  Carrhart,  Bach, 
McNaughton  and  Winslow  on  the  charge  of  riot,  fel 
ony  and  murder. 

To  the  search  of  the  marshals  for  the  indicted,  Gen 
eral  Crawford  lent  the  assistance  of  a  company  of  in 
fantry.  The  patrols  were  increased,  and  'a  regiment 
was  kept  under  arms  to  meet  any  emergency.  The  prep 
arations  were  not  warranted  by  any  trouble  that 
arose ;  Bach  and  Winslow  evaded  the  minions  and  sur 
rendered  themselves  to  the  authorities.  Blair  could 
not  be  found;  the  town  was  searched  from  end  to 
end ;  but  he  was  discovered  in  neither  one  end  nor  at 
the  other,  nor  yet  between  the  two.  The  foreigners 
when  questioned  became  peculiarly  stupid,  shrugged 
their  shoulders  and  shook  their  heads,  showing  just 


426  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

sufficient  command  of  English  to  make  it  clear  that 
they  did  not  comprehend  it. 

Marvin  stormed  when  he  was  informed  of  the  of 
ficers'  failure  to  secure  Blair.  He  needed  that  man 
particularly ;  the  others  amounted  to  hut  little ;  they 
were  but  so  many  weights  needed  to  drag  Blair  Carr- 
hart  down  and  to  sink  in  the  dragging.  He  cursed 
marshals  and  detectives  alike  for  dullards.  He  was 
stupefied  at  the  non-accomplishment  of  so  simple  a 
task.  The  man  was  seriously  wounded ;  he  couldn't 
have  escaped  very  far — get  him !  A  second  attempt, 
unavailing  as  the  first,  was  made.  Every  place  but  one 
was  searched ;  Blair  was  in  that  one  place. 

Marvin's  game  was  as  well  played  as  it  was  intrepid. 
The  backbone  of  the  Advisory  Committee  was  broken ; 
skilful  surgery  might  heal  the  fracture ;  but  the  brains 
of  the  strike  were  jarred  into  stupidity  by  the  shock 
to  the  spinal  column. 

The  men  were  scarcely  released  on  bail  for  one 
charge  before  they  were  remanded  on  another.  War 
rants  were  issued  for  the  murder  of  the  Pinkertons. 
Again  they  were  released  on  bail.  Another  batch  of 
warrants  followed — arrests  were  made  on  the  charge 
of  aggravated  riot  and  conspiracy.  The  policy  of  the 
Company  was  clear ;  papers  were  to  be  issued  until  the 
means  for  furnishing  heavy  bail  bonds  should  fail  and 
the  leaders  in  the  strike  be  incarcerated  as  a  result  of 
the  failure. 

The  new  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee,  who 
succeeded  their  imprisoned  comrades,  were,  if  they  had 
but  dared  to  acknowledge  it,  more  disheartened  than 
the  rank  and  file.  Deny  it  to  others  as  they  might,  they 
could  not  deny  it  to  themselves  that  the  work  was  mak 
ing  steady  progress  under  the  guidance  of  non-union 


SIEGE  427 

hands  and  that  the  first  plates  for  the  government  con 
tract  had  been  satisfactorily  rolled ;  nor  were  they 
without  reasoa  when  they  feared  that  their  incarcer 
ated  predecessors  might  stand  face  to  face  with  death 
on  the  gallows  or  suffer  a  life-long  regret  in  the  pen 
itentiary.  Free  speech  was  growing  more  and  more 
dangerous ;  warrants  hung  like  Damoclean  swords 
over  their  heads,  and  the  ^ate  of  their  friends  was  an 
omnipresent  warning.  Court,  capital,  and  mili 
tary  were  trampling  their  weakened  cause  to  earth  and 
it  could  not  rise  again. 

Moreover,  as  the  strikers  grew  more  and  more  tim 
orous,  the  Company  showed  a  more  and  more  auda 
cious  front.  The  number  of  troops  was  steadily  re 
duced  ;  day  by  day  parts  of  the  regiments  decamped 
from  the  town.  The  sheriff  increased  the  number  of 
his  deputies  in  proportion  to  the  decrease  of  the  troops 
— an  open  declaration  that  the  civil  authorities  consid 
ered  themselves  strong  enough  to  cope  with  any  dif 
ficulty.  Tenements  outside  of  the  mills  were  filled 
with  the  new  hands  and  placed  under  surveillance  of 
squads  of  the  militia.  The  non-union  men  would 
gradually  seize  the  town  as  they  had  the  mills. 

Meanwhile,  in  ignorance  that  savored  of  bliss,  Blair 
was  convalescing  slowly  and  surely,  despite  unfavor 
able  lapses.  As  life  and  vigor  fought  their  way  back 
into  his  enfeebled  system,  Blair  fretted  and  fumed 
at  his  confinement ;  the  battle  was  still  going  on  and 
it  irked  him  that  he  might  bear  no  minor  part  therein. 
The  nervousness  induced  by  his  restlessness  was  a 
serious  obstacle  to  a  more  speedy  recovery.  Van's  tact 
and  wit  were  drained  in  the  constant  exertion  of  a 
quietinof  influence,  in  the  oroviding-  of  a  meet  entertain 
ment  for  despondent  hours.  Even  wit  and  wisdom 


428  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

failed  at  times  and  she  was  reduced  to  a  tearful  suppli 
cation  to  keep  him  in  his  invalid's  chair  until  the  ap 
pointed  time. 

Finally  the  hour  of  deliverance  approached  and 
Blair  was  allowed  the  greater  but  more  tantalizing 
freedom  of  out-of-door  walks.  Accompanied  by  Evan- 
geline,  leaning  on  his  stout  cane,  he  wobbled  down  the 
street.  Unwelcome  August  and  its  sweltering  heat 
had  come  and  gone,  and  the  haze  of  September,  now 
far  in  its  way,  lay  over  the  brown  and  cool  prairie 
lands.  The  day  was  crisp,  tinged  with  the  promise  of 
coming  frosts,  and  Blair  drew  in  deep  breaths  with 
grateful  lungs  as  he  picked  his  way  down  the  rickety 
tenement  stairs. 

Now  tnat  it  was  on  the  return  his  strength  gained 
rapidly,  and  before  the  week  was  ended,  Blair  was  able 
to  cover  quite  a  distance  without  fatigue.  He  and 
Evangeline  became  two  angels  visitant,  moving  from 
tenement  to  tenement,  through  the  tortuous  maze  of 
stairway,  alley  and  hall.  For  him  no  longer  was  the 
glad  welcome,  the  open  greeting,  the  rapt  and  trustful 
looks.  Somehow  they  blamed  him  for  all  the  distress 
that  had  been  heaped  upon  them ;  and  the  strange  be 
lief  was  generally  shared  that,  had  he  so  desired,  he 
could  have  led  them  to  victory  long  ago,  averting  the 
sinister  twist  of  their  misshapen  fortunes.  Was  their 
present  condition  the  end  of  his  fine  spun  dreams  and 
this  agony  the  realization  of  his  Cooperative  Com 
monwealth  ? 

The  knowledge  that  Evangeline  was  the  daughter  of 
Marvin  was  possessed  by  all.  and  this  love  of  the  plu 
tocratic  maiden  for  the  leader  of  labor  was  regarded 
with  a  distrust  akin  to  an^er.  They  discussed  it  a^ain 
and  again  among  themselves,  and  the  universal  conclu- 


SIEGE  429 

sion  decided  the  affair  full  of  mystery,  auguring  evil. 
Treachery  was  hinted  at  in  foreboding  whispers.  He 
was  playing  them  into  the  hands  of  Marvin  and  the 
Company.  Their  stupidity  conceived  impossible  plots 
and  counter-plots  into  which  they  had  been  innocently 
dragged  as  the  blind  misled  by  the  lame. 

Had  Blair  but  suspected  the  evil  thoughts  hatching 
behind  those  narrow  brows,  causing  their  frowns  and 
scowls,  he  might  have  hesitated  to  appear  among  them, 
even  on  his  errand  of  mercy ;  and  less  on  his  own  ac 
count  than  Evangeline's,  for  it  was  against  her  that 
they  wished  to  wreak  their  fury.  She  was  the  rav 
ishing  Lorelei  that  had  captivated  their  quondam  hero, 
singing  and  attuning  her  harp  to  her  father's  music, 
urged  to  drag  him  down  into  their  capitalistic  cavern, 
whither  he  would  be  certain  to  lead  his  followers  after 
him.  If  she  were  out  of  the  way  he  might  be  released 
from  the  soul-strangling  mesh  into  which  she  had  en 
tangled  him.  Money  and  food  and  raiment  were  taken 
from  her  hand  with  reluctance. 

But  the  change  of  attitude,  sharp  and  marked  as  it 
was,  escaped  the  observation  of  both  Blair  and  Evan- 
geline,  or,  if  noticed,  both  of  them  were  far  from  at 
tributing  it  to  the  true  source.  It  was  their  single 
mission  and  only  purpose  to  fill  those  distended  stom 
achs,  to  hush  the  tears  of  the  children  with  the  bread 
for  which  they  were  crying,  and  they  sought  not  in  re 
turn  the  thanks  of  praising  tongues,  nor  the  smiles  of 
grateful  faces. 

It  needed  a  pause  for  breath  and  a  girding  of  the 
loins  to  continue  that  round  of  alleviating  calls ;  to  pass 
on  from  one  chamber  of  horrors  to  another  chamber  of 
torture  and  to  be  able  to  do  so  little  to  end  the  torture 
or  obliterate  the  horror. 


430  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Here  and  there  the  doors  were  slammed  in  the  faces 
of  the  angels  visitant.  They  wanted  them  not.  They 
would  not  have  the  curious  pry  into  their  affliction,  nor 
their  famished  homes  desecrated  by  the  footsteps  of  a 
contemptible  traitor.  Perhaps  their  inertia  saved 
Blair  from  being  mobbed. 

His  heart  was  far  heavier  when  he  returned  than 
when  he  had  started ;  and  that  night  he  succumbed  to  a 
fit  of  despondency,  sable-hued,  from  which  even  Van's 
cheer  failed  to  rouse  him.  In  his  sojourn  through  the 
tenements  he  had  learned  all  that  they  had  so  arduous 
ly  striven  to  withhold  from  him  during  his  illness. 
The  Company  had  not  receded  from  its  position  then! 
Hunger  was  stalking  through  the  wretched  homes  of 
the  people!  The  cold  was  crouching  at  their  thresh 
olds,  waiting  to  force  a  predatory  entrance !  They  had 
concealed  the  truth  from  him !  They  had  lured  him 
with  pleasing  falsehoods ! 

Blair  saw,  he  understood,  he  divined  all  now !  The 
strike  had  not  been  won,  it  was  lost.  Non-union  hands 
had  lit  the  fire  in  those  flaming  furnaces.  The  stridor 
of  the  whistles  and  the  gride  of  the  machinery  that  had 
made  his  heart  glad  as  he  lay  there  night  after  night, 
faint  and  sleepless,  were  after  all  no  prcan  of  triumph 
to  celebrate  their  victory,  but  the  funeral  march  for  a 
lost  cause.  They  too  had  lied  to  him ! 

His  chair  was  drawn  close  to  the  window  and  he 
could  gaze  down  into  the  mill-yard  and  see  the  men  at 
work  pushing  the  buggies  of  ore  on  the  elevators  that 
rah  to  the  blast-furnaces.  The  glare  from  the  gaunt 
chimneys  shone  on  hic:h  like  a  bale-fire,  anon  it  suf 
fused  the  air  of  the  yards  with  a  carmine  glow,  like 
that  of  a  vivid  dawn  breaking  through  the  darkness ; 
and  the  translucent  light  from  the  converters  swept 


SIEGE  431 

across  the  firmament  in  long  streaks.  He  could  hear 
the  pounding  of  the  rails,  the  rumbling  of  the  plates. 
Lost !  Lost !  It  had  all  come  to  naught,  to  worse  than 
naught ;  he  had  visited  greater  misery  on  the  people 
whom  he  loved  and  strove  to  benefit.  He  was  too 
weak  to  control  himself;  the  strong  man  burst  into 
tears. 

"What's  the  matter,  Blair?1'  and  Evangeline  was 
at  his  side. 

"  Oh,  Van,"  he  moaned,  "  they  have  been  deceiving 
me.  It's  lost!  It's  all  over.'' 

"Forgive  me,  Blair,"  she  sobbed.  "It  had  to  be 
done,  for  your  sake.'" 

"  I  understand,"  he  said  in  a  whisper,  smoothing  her 
hair. 

"  We  must  leave  here,"  she  pleaded;  "  you  are  only 
eating  your  heart  and  wearing  out  your  life.  You  can 
do  no  good.  Come,  Blair,  let's  go  home." 

He  eyed  her  accusingly,  half  angrily,  the  old  reso 
lute  look  flashed  through  his  eye,  the  colorless  flesh 
clung  tight  to  his  squared  jaw.  "  And  you,  Van — have 
you  too  lost  faith  ?  Do  you  want  me  to  slink  away  now 
that  trouble  has  come?  Do  you  want  me  to  shirk  the 
responsibility  of  my  own  acts?  Do  you  think  that  I 
am  afraid  ?  " 

"  No,  Blair,  no ;  that's  the  last  thing  I  thought  or 
wanted,  heaven  knows.  Only  you  do  need  rest  and 
quiet,  and  if  you  keep  on  agitating  yourself  like  this 
I  fear — oh,  I  don't  know  what  may  result." 

He  was  silent,  lost  in  thought,  almost  as  if  he  were 
unaware  of  her  presence.  He  gazed  steadily  out  of 
the  window,  his  hand  resting  on  his  chin.  He  looked 
up  suddenly  and  said: — "I  have  been  thinking  over 
some  things  a  good  deal,  Van,  turning  (hem  over  in 


432  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

my  mind  again  and  again  as  I  lay  there  too  weak  to 
speak.  I  wish  you  would  go  back.  I  want  you  to  go 
home.  This  is  altogether  too  much  for  you  to  stand. 
It  is  no  place  for  you.  I  can't  tell  what  may  happen. 
The  crowd  may  turn  on  me  to-morrow.  Winslow 
used  to  warn  me  again  and  again — and  I  don't  want 
you  here  to  see  it.  I  don't  see  how  you  have  stood  it 
so  long,  my  brave  girl ;  I  don't  see." 

"  Blair,"  she  interrupted,  "  I  wasn't  thinking  of  my 
self.  It  isn't  for  myself  I  care.  I  can  stand  it.  It 
hasn't  hurt  me ;  on  the  contrary  I  have  learned  much 
here.  It  has  done  me  a  great  deal  of  good  in  a  great 
many  ways." 

"  I  expected  that  you  would  answer  me  in  that  fash 
ion,  Van ;  but  I  want  you  away  from  here,  out  of 
this.  It  is  almost  too  much  for  a  strong  man ;  it  is 
altogether  too  much  for  a  delicate  woman.  I  want 
you  to  go  home.  You  have  done  more  than  your  duty, 
more  than  any  woman  on  earth  would  have  done,  and 
you  ought  to  rest  satisfied  with  that.  You  are  pale 
and  worn  and  nervous — you  are  in  a  far  worse  condi 
tion  than  I  am." 

"  I  will  go  home,  Blair — when —  "  she  paused  and 
nestled  closer  to  him. 

"  When  ?  When  what  ? "  he  questioned  impa 
tiently. 

u  When  you  go  home  with  me,"  she  said  in  a  man 
ner  not  to  be  contradicted. 

"  Then  we  will  stay  here  until  it  is  all  over — one 
way  or  the  other,  Van." 

"  It  all  remains  with  you  to  decide,  Blair." 

They  lapsed  into  silence  again,  listening  to  the  bel 
lowing  and  the  clanging  and  clattering  of  the  mills. 
She  told  him  then,  for  the  first  time,  of  her  mother's 


SIEGE  433 

death,  of  her  separation  from  her  father.  He  was  all 
in  all  to  her  now. 

There  came  another  day  of  heart-wearing  work  in 
the  most  pitiful  section  of  the  foreign  quarters — a  dis 
trict  fairly  honeycombed  with  the  cells  of  starving 
occupants,  comatose  and  dumb,  punished  so  cruelly 
that  they  were  apathetic  to  any  coming  infliction.  It 
was  maddening,  revolting,  the  sight  of  this  patient, 
hard-working,  long-suffering  people  malformed  by  the 
obsession  of  the  long  famine — a  malformation  that  was 
twice  horrible  since  it  was  going  on  amidst  a  land 
that  groaned  with  plenty. 

Dusk  fell  before  their  visiting  for  that  day  was 
done ;  and  as  the  pair  emerged  to  the  street  by  the 
passageways  through  which  they  had  come,  their  feet 
were  scarcely  able  to  drag  their  bodies  along.  A 
motley  crowd  was  gathered  in  "the  street,  uproarious 
with  their  angry  and  excited  cries. 

"  There  she  comes,"  shouted  a  mere  boy,  pointing 
to  Evangeline  with  a  long  stick  which  he  shook  threat 
eningly,  with  a  mock  heroic  air. 

"  Come  on,"  yelped  a  man,  waving  his  arms. 

"  Kill  her !  Knock  her  down !  Pull  her  clothes  off ! 
The  witch !  "  went  up  the  infuriated  screeches  in  a 
babel  of  tongues.  It  was  as  if  they  were  preparing 
to  attack  a  whole  regiment  of  soldiery,  not  a  maimed 
man  and  a  defenseless  woman,  and  as  if  their  threats 
were  raised  to  scare  the  enemy  and  inspire  their  own 
sinking  courage. 

'  They  are  coming  for  us,"  moaned  Blair. 

"  Not  for  us,  but  for  me,"  sobbed  Evangeline,  pal 
pitating. 

Blair  grasped  Evangeline  by  the  hand,  his  thought 
keyed  to  the  issue  of  a  responsibility  upon  which  more 
28 


434  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

than  life  itself  depended.  He  shook  his  cane  defi 
antly.  The  crowd  paused  for  a  second.  The  awe 
of  former  associations  clung  to  the  man  who  had  been 
their  leader  once  and  whom  they  had  followed  with 
love  where  he  had  led  without  fear.  The  rabble 
hurtled  forward. 

"  Run,  Van,  run  ;  for  God's  sake  run !  "  screamed 
Blair.  She  clung  to  him  closer,  clutching  his  arm  in 
the  delirium  of  fright  that  is  blind  to  all  danger. 

Blair  fell  to  the  ground,  struck  in  his  wounded 
shoulder  by  a  stone.  Evangeline  threw  herself  pro- 
tectingly,  like  a  shield,  over  his  prostrate  body.  The 
mob,  beholding  that  their  idol  was  fallen,  rushed  on 
to  shatter  it  beyond  recognition.  Rough  and  brutal 
hands  were  laid  on  Evangeline ;  but  she  clung  to 
Blair  bravely,  guarding  him  with  all  the  altruism  of 
maternal  love. 

"  Hold  on,  boys ;  that  ain't  right.  You  mustn't 
hit  a  woman,"  and  Michael  Brodski  came  speeding 
forward,  outdistancing  Jan  and  Paul,  attracted  to 
the  spot  by  the  report  of  riot. 

"  It's  Marvin's  daughter !  "  bellowed  a  voice. 
"  She's  bought  him  out !  She's  sold  us  and  we  want 
her  !  We'll  kill  her !  " 

"  No,  you  won't,  not  while  we're  alive.  Don't 
be  afraid,  Mr.  Carrhart ;  we're  coming,"  called 
Michael. 

Sticks  and  stones  were  hurled  at  the  rescuer.  The 
mob  was  diverted,  for  the  minute,  from  its  object. 
They  had  come  for  prey  and  it  mattered  but  little 
what  prey  it  was.  Jan  and  Paul  placed  themselves 
between  Blair,  Evangeline.  and  ihe  mob.  The  crowd 
scattered  to  renew  their  exhausted  supply  of  missiles. 
Women,  men  and  children  came  pouring1  out  of  the 


SIEGE  435 

tenements,  wondering  if  the  attack  against  the  mills 
were  beginning  anew. 

A  squad  of  militia,  drawn  thither  by  the  hubbub, 
marched  forward  in  double  quick  time.  The  mob 
dispersed  swifter  than  it  had  gathered.  There  was 
no  trifling  with  the  militia  these  days;  their  rifles 
were  loaded  with  bullets  and  the  bullets  waited  but 
for  an  excuse  to  kill.  Blair  was  saved  by  the  new 
enemy  from  the  unreasoning  wrath  of  his  old  friends. 

Another  setback  retained  Blair  in  bed  for  two 
weeks,  and  the  giant  twisted  and  writhed  in  vain  at 
the  invisible  chains  which  bound  him  to  inactivity. 
His  restlessness  burned  deeper  than  his  fever.  He  was 
thrall  to  a  consuming  desire  to  meet  his  enemies,,  to 
conquer  them,  to  prove  to  them  how  mistaken  were 
their  foolish  prejudice  and  blind  passion ;  but  Evan- 
geline,  whose  wisdom  disproved  her  years,  pleaded 
for  a  return  to  the  people  among  whom  they  had  been 
born,  and  by  whom  they  were  understood  and  loved. 

Her  plea  always  met  the  same  rejoinder;  and  Evan- 
geline  was  obliged  to  worry  in  helplessness  over  Blair's 
sinking  vitality,  over  the  old  expression  that  all  but 
weazened  his  young  face,  settling  there  as  if  by  right 
of  eminent  domain,  never  to  be  disturbed.  Gray  hairs 
were  stealing  their  way  through  his  thick  black  locks, 
and  crows'  feet  were  grasping  for  roost  in  the  corners 
of  his  eyes.  He  was  aging  fast ;  he  was  bearing  the 
responsibilities  of  an  ungrateful  and  unappreciative 
world  on  his  shoulders,  and  Evangeline  trembled  lest 
they  crush  him. 

He  called  on  the  Jndsons  one  Sunday,  entreating 
Van  to  remain  behind,  and  his  entreaty  finally  won  her 
consent.  Mrs.  Judson  received  him  coldly ;  figura 
tively  the  door  was  slammed  on  his  nose,  literally  it 


436  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

was  opened  none  too  wide.  Perhaps  his  emaciated 
frame  and  sunken  face  alone  saved  him  from  insult. 
The  accusation  of  murder  looked  down  on  him  from 
every  silent,  frowning  face.  The  children  drew  closer 
to  their  parents,  shrinking  away.  Mabel  scowled 
darkly ;  Martha's  brow  was  wrinkled  as  with  lines 
of  anger.  Mrs.  Judson's  lips  were  pursed  as  if  to  re 
strain  stinging  words  that  were  eager  to  escape.  Jud- 
son,  who  looked  twenty  years  older  than  when  Blair 
first  knew  him,  bent  his  face  to  the  floor  and  tapped 
his  foot  on  the  carpet. 

Blair's  questions  were  answered  in  reluctant  mono 
syllables,  snapped  out.  Mrs.  Judson  clenched  her 
short  hands  and  beat  the  sofa  with  light,  quick  blows. 
Their  aversion,  the  repulsion  which  they  could  not 
conceal,  was  more  than  Blair's  Spartan  soul  could 
stand,  and  he  almost  broke  down.  Then  he  drew  his 
lax  nerves  taut  and  forced  himself  to  speak ;  and  the 
flood  of  eloquence,  so  long  pent  up,  gathered  force,  as 
it  were,  from  the  long  restraint,  and  burst  in  easy 
periods  from  his  lips.  The  sacrifice  they  had  made 
was  terrible.  They  had  given  their  boy  to  a  cause  as 
noble  as  ever  mother  immolated  her  son.  They  in 
terrupted  his  exordium  almost  before  he  had  begun. 

"  Fine  words,  fine  words,"  growled  Judson. 

"  Yes,  fine  words,"  fairly  howled  the  mother,  "  but 
they  don't  bring  our  boy  back  to  us." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  he  stammered,  arising  to  go,  feeling 
himself  on  the  verge  of  crying.  "  I  would  have  given 
my  life  for  Ben's.  It  broke  my  heart  that  day."  He 
ceased ;  the  tears  were  rolling  down  his  peaked  face. 

The  Judson s  beheld  his  anguish  without  pity  or 
repentance.  The  family  was  firm  in  the  conviction 
that  Blair  was  responsible  for  Ben's  death,  and  if  he 


SIEGE  437 

suffered  for  the  murder  he  was  paying  inadequate 
penalty  for  the  crime. 

Blair  limped  towards  the  door.  His  good-by  re 
ceived  an  almost  inaudible  answer.  He  could  not 
leave  without  learning  what  he  had  come  to  ask. 
Mastering  himself,  he  turned  around.  "  Where  is 
Win  slow  ?  v 

Martha  arose,  her  rounded  breast,  swelling;  the 
fury  of  hell's  scorn  blanching  her  cheek,  flashing  from 
her  dark  eyes.  "  In  jail,"  she  said  in  a  scornful  and 
low  voice;  "  in  jail,  where  you  sent  him." 

"Where  I  sent  him,  Martha?  I  don't  understand." 
He  was  faint;  the  blood  rushed,  congealing,  to  his 
wound;  the  pain  was  excruciating  as  if  it  were  open 
ing  afresh. 

"  That's  right,"  shrilled  Mrs.  Judson,  "  feign  inno 
cence  when " 

"  Hush,  Ma  Judson,"  commanded  her  husband, 
awed  by  Blair's  appearance. 

Blair  was  at  the  door.  Judson  arose.  "  I'm  sorry 
about  this,  Carrhart,"  he  said  softly,  putting  his  arm 
on  Blair's  shoulder  sympathetically,  "  I  can't  bear  to 
see  any  man  leave  my  house  like  this.  The  folks  are 
upset,  and  we've  all  acted  harsher  than  we  really 
mean  it.  Come  again  soon  and  let  us  make  amends." 

Overwhelmed  by  Judson's  kindness  more  than  by 
the  others'  severity,  Blair  could  give  no  reply.  He 
all  but  broke  down. 

Judson  held  out  his  hand.  "There's  no  hard  feel 
ing  on  my  part,  Carrhart,  and  there's  my  hand  on  it. 
I  want  to  forgive  you  in  my  name  and  the  boy's.  I 
guess  this  business  has  cost  you  enough  suffering  any 
way,  and  God  knows  I  don't  want  to  make  it  any 
worse." 


438  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Martha  advanced  towards  Blair,  contrite,  ashamed. 
Her  proud  face  and  bearing  were  humbled  and  sub 
dued.  She  held  out  her  hand ;  Blair  clasped  it. 
Words  were  unnecessary. 

The  door  opened ;  Blair  was  in  the  street  again, 
knowing  not  how  he  had  found  his  way  thither, 
crushed  by  the  accusing  faces  of  the  family,  broken- 
spirited  by  the  forgiveness  of  Judson  and  Martha, 
harder  to  bear  than  their  stern  reproach. 

He  had  scarcely  turned  the  corner  before  he  caught 
sight  of  Evangeline  in  waiting.  To  her  willing  ears 
he  poured  out  the  grief  that  rilled  his  bruised  heart; 
the  desertion  of  old  and  beloved  friends,  the  blame  of 
crime  that  was  not  of  his  doing;  the  words  of  ex 
culpation  that  were  prompted  by  pity  rather  than 
reason. 

Van  consoled  him  in  her  soothing  way,  salving  his 
hurt  with  consummate  tact,  showing  rare  intuition  in 
the  understanding  of  Blair's  complicated  process  of 
thought  that  made  his  pain  so  unendurable. 

Henry  Marvin,  moving  along  erect,  with  a  calm  and 
almost  studied  deliberation,  passed  his  daughter  and 
her  lover.  It  had  been  the  president's  habit,  for  the 
last  weeks,  to  walk  through  the  town  on  his  way  to 
and  from  the  mills,  as  if  in  melodramatic  assertion 
of  the  rights  of  the  victor  and  the  weakness  of  the 
defeated.  His  friends  insisted  determinedly  that  two 
detectives  follow  him  at  close  range,  and  Marvin  was 
fairly  forced  into  compliance.  The  strikers,  men  and 
women,  watched  him  angrily,  cursing  their  oppressor 
with  smothered  foreign  oaths,  and  let  him  pass  with 
out  the  least  molestation. 

The  color  spurted  from  Van's  cheeks;  she  clutched 
Blair's  arm,  restraining  a  cry  of  surprise.  Marvin 


SIEGE  439 

eyed  his  daughter  unflinchingly.  His  glance  of  stone 
and  flint  gave  no  hint  of  recognition.  Astonishment 
wavered  across  his  stern-set  features  when  his  sight 
rested  on  Blair. 

The  feeling  that  Blair  needed  all  her  strength  and 
sympathy  sustained  Evangeline  and  prevented  her 
from  making  any  drain  on  either  his  sympathy  or  his 
strength.  Each  understood  what  was  going  on  in  the 
mind  of  the  other;  neither  spoke. 

They  had  progressed  thus  but  a  few  feet,  when  the 
two  sleuths,  sent  post-haste  by  Marvin  to  capture 
their  elusive  prey,  arrested  Blair.  Evangeline  made 
no  outcry.  In  this  crisis,  as  in  every  other,  she 
proved  herself  the  true  daughter  of  her  father — re 
liant,  composed,  every  thought  bent  upon  solving  the 
emergency  of  the  moment.  Blair  was  relieved  from 
the  nerve-tearing  necessity  of  calming  her  when  he 
saw  that  she  was  merely  concerned  with  calming 
him. 

"  It's  a  rather  underhanded  way  of  doing  things, 
my  friends,"  he  said  to  the  detectives,  trembling,  en 
ervated  by  the  excitement.  "  Henry  Marvin  might 
have  spared  me  this  humiliation.  I  would  have  come 
to  you  if  I  had  only  known  that  you  wanted  me." 

Marvin  turned  on  his  heel,  saw  Blair  in  the  clutch 
of  his  myrmidons,  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 
Justice  had  been  balked  too  long,  and  vengeance,  for 
which  justice  was  the  excuse,  would  be  satisfied  at 
last.  Marvin  loved  his  enemies — his  hatred  was  so 
keen  that  the  sensation  was  tantamount  to  that  awak 
ened  by  love. 

Blair  was  released  on  bail  that  same  afternoon. 
The  property  that  Evangeline  had  inherited  from  her 
mother  proved  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  exorbitant  bonds 


440  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

demanded  by  the  court  on  the  five  grave  charges ;  and 
besides.,  on  Blair's  solicitation,  she  went  bond  for 
Winslow  and  he  was  freed  from  durance. 

It  was  a  touching  sight,  fine  with  pathos,  when  the 
two  friends  clasped  hands  again  after  their  long  sepa 
ration  and  what  Blair  believed  a  bitter  estrangement. 
Winslow,  finding  it  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  giant 
he  had  erstwhile  known  was  the  Blair  Carrhart, 
feeble  and  shattered,  with  sunken  and  care-furrowed 
cheeks  and  hollow  eyes,  who  stood  before  him  now, 
was  shocked  beyond  the  measure  of  his  words. 

"  It's  just  what  I'd  expect  of  you,  Carrhart/'  he 
said,  after  the  exchange  of  the  amenities.  "  I  always 
knew  that  you  were  dead  square,  and  I'm  only  a  bit 
surer  now.  There'll  be  a  big  shake-up  soon,  one  way 
or  the  other ;  I  know  that,  because  I've  been  through 
deals  like  this  before;  but  you  and  I  stand  pat,  don't 
we?" 

"  Right  until  the  end  of  time/'  affirmed  Blair, 
happy  that  the  first  of  his  friends  at  the  mill  should  be 
the  firmest  at  the  last.  It  was  balm  and  rest  to  his 
aching  and  tired  soul. 

A  relapse  was  the  consequence  of  these  few  turbu 
lent  days,  and  Blair  was  confined  to  his  bed,  fever- 
racked,  moaning  with  pain  from  the  wound  in  his 
shoulder.  Unmindful  of  Blair's  protest,  Evangeline 
summoned  the  Polish  doctor.  He  shrugged  his  shoul 
ders,  shook  his  blond  head  and  scolded  both  Evan 
geline  and  Blair  for  their  criminal  carelessness.  It 
would  take  a  long  time  for  his  health  to  reach  the 
point  where  it  stood  before  his  recklessness  pulled  it 
down. 

Three  monotonous  and  melancholy  weeks  dragged 
along  and  Blair  was  still  chained  to  his  bed.  Oc- 


SIEGE  441 

tober  came,  unusually  chill  and  severe,  winter  steal 
ing  into  the  border  lines  of  fall.  Bleak,  keen-edged 
winds  swept  over  the  spaceless  prairies.  Coatings  of 
ice,  premature,  thin  as  filaments,  spread  over  the  deep 
pools  that  the  end  of  September  rains  had  cleansed 
from  the  fetid  stagnation  of  the  summer. 

The  resources  of  the  Finance  Committee  were  slow 
ly  dwindling  away;  the  bottom  of  the  coffers  showed 
but  a  patched  and  straggling  surface  of  coin.  Five 
thousand  laborers  and  their  families  had  drained  the 
treasury  steadily  for  ninety  days.  Outside  contri 
butions  came  in  slower  and  slower,  in  driblets,  in 
ludicrously  small  amounts,  then  not  at  all.  The  strike 
had  lasted  too  long;  public  interest,  concerned  with 
newer  and  more  vital  questions,  flagged  and  drifted 
away. 

The  disbursing  officers  figured  closer  and  closer, 
refusing  after  a  while  to  give  money,  supplying 
orders  for  provisions  instead;  but  even  the  amount 
thus  expended  assumed  alarming  diurnal  proportions. 
The  rulers  of  the  purse  grew  more  conservative,  asked 
more  questions!,  examined  deeper  before  they  gave, 
and  when  they  did  they  were  more  parsimonious  in 
the  giving.  The  recipients  grumbled  at  their  miserly 
doles.  They  complained  bitterly  over  the  lack  of  their 
daily  rations  of  tobacco  and  beer,  and  they  sighed  for 
the  bliss  of  satisfied  stomachs. 

Finally  the  treasury  was  emptied,  even  its  bottom 
scraped.  Resource  was  sought  in  small  credits  from 
the  local  shopkeepers,  whom  business  policy  forbade 
to  refuse  at  first ;  but  when  the  affair  crawled  and 
crawled  along,  they  came  to  the  unanimous  decision 
that  ruin  might  as  well  come  in  one  shape  as  in  an 
other,  and  niggardly  credits  were  granted  under 


442  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

greater  and  greater  protest  to  the  housewives  present 
ing  their  brown  blank  books. 

The  dullest  could  discern  that  the  time  was  not 
far  removed  when  grocer  and  butcher  would  shut 
their  doors  against  them  and  turn  a  deaf  car  to  their 
prayers  for  a  sausage,  a  carrot  and  three  potatoes, — 
all  that  intervened  between  them  and  starvation.  Chill 
penury  was  looked  upon  as  paradisiacal  in  retrospect 
from  the  depths  of  dire  want,  and  it  would  not  be  long 
before  from  the  still  greater  depths  of  famine  that 
dire  want  itself  would  seem  as  heavenly  by  compar 
ison.  Threats  of  surrender  and  secession  were  rife. 
The  preponderant  foreign  element — the  most  indigent 
of  all — clamored  loudest  for  capitulation.  The  brunt 
of  the  strike  fell  upon  them,  and  they  would  reap  the 
jackal's  share  of  the  reward,  should  victory,  per 
chance,  be  ultimate.  They  were  carrying  the  burden 
for  the  union  and  tonnage  men ;  and  it  dawned  slowly 
on  their  intellects,  sharpened  now  by  hunger,  that  they 
were  pulling  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire  for  others  to 
devour,  whilst  they  sat  blowing  on  their  burned  fin 
gers. 

Often  at  night,  setting  the  doctor's  behest  at  naught, 
Blair  would  stroll  through  the  somber  streets,  pausing 
often  to  listen  to  the  groans  of  anguish  that  burst 
through  the  homes  of  the  unfortunates  and  went 
screaming  to  the  pitiless  stars.  Every  board  of  the 
ramshackle  tenements  was  eloquent  with  the  dolor  of 
its  inmates.  If  the  strike  continued  a  few  weeks 
longer  death  would  be  the  final  arbiter. 

Through  the  dark  alleys  he  could  see  the  children 
scamper,  like  rats  from  their  holes,  in  search  for  any 
refuse  that  might  serve  for  food.  With  what  hero 
ism  were  they  meeting  the  issue!  As  long  as  human 


SIEGE  443 

beings  could  endure  without  perishing,  they  were 
willing  to  submit  to  the  ordeal  that  their  children 
might  find  life  easier  than  they.  One  thought,  ever 
present,  abiding  as  a  shibboleth  carved  in  granite, 
sustained  and  cheered — to  abdicate  to-day  would  be 
to  render  all  the  long  travail  of  the  past  tragically 
purposeless;  while  the  withstanding  of  one  more  day 
might  bring  a  victory  that  would  balm  the  wounds  re 
ceived  through  the  long,  merciless  years.  So  they  con 
tinued  meeting  the  day  to  come  with  stoical  bravery, 
fortifying  themselves  with  the  reflection  that  the  day 
before,  equally  atrocious,  had  gone  down  in  the  face 
of  their  defiance  and  fortitude. 

Children  came  gliding  in  and  out  of  the  winding 
passageways,  with  baskets  slung  on  their  arms.  It 
was  a  mystery  that  Blair  tried  in  vain  to  fathom.  Two 
urchins  were  talking  near  him  in  the  darkness.  Blair 
stood  still  and  listened. 

"  Get  anything  this  evening?  "  asked  the  one. 

"Yes,  I  was  lucky."  The  other  held  up  a  full 
basket. 

"  Where  were  you  ?  " 

In  answer  to  this  query  the  fortunate  one  gave  a 
list  of  houses  that  had  responded  to  his  appeals.  Blair 
shuddered.  They  were  exchanging  mendicant  direc 
tories. 

Men  passed  him  in  the  darkness,  in  the  light  that 
flared  savagely  from  the  flames  of  the  mills.  They 
were  gaunt  and  thin,  moving  with  heavy  breath  and 
halting  limbs — mere  shadows  of  the  brawny  workers 
that  had  been.  In  and  out  of  the  Dumb-Bell,  stragglers, 
with  wary  and  sly  glances,  slunk  like  dogs  with  pur 
loined  bones.  Blair  marveled  how  they  who  were  de 
prived  of  bread  could  purchase  beer. 


444  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

He  threw  all  thoughts  of  consequences  aside,  and 
bracing  himself,  he  stepped  within  the  saloon.  It  was 
unusually  warm  and  comfortable.  A  handful  of 
strikers  were  amusing  themselves  at  the  Tivoli  pool 
table,  stopping  the  game  now  and  then  to  seek  re 
freshment  from  the  schooners  foaming  on  the  bar.  A 
tray  of  bread  stood  on  a  table,  and  from  its  plenteous 
depths  the  men  filled  their  pockets. 

Blair  was  recognized  at  once;  but  the  recognition 
came  with  a  sheepish  and  hang-dog  look  as  they  faced 
his  wrinkling  brows  and  his  eyes  focused  on  them 
questioningly.  When  the  men  left  the  saloon,  with 
out  exception,  they  dipped  their  hands  into  the  tray 
and  filled  their  pockets  with  the  bread ;  the  whole  ac 
tion  was  like  that  of  thieves  who  expect  pursuit  and 
who  are  ready  to  evade  it  on  the  run.  Blair  stared  at 
the  proprietor  searchingly ;  the  stolid  inscrutability 
of  the  sphinx  returned  his  stare. 

A  stranger  stepped  up  to  Blair,  portly,  well- 
groomed,  evidently  neither  a  striker  nor  a  non-union 
workman.  The  Polish  proprietor  winked  and  mo 
tioned,  but  he  failed  to  attract  the  individual's  atten 
tion.  The  man  hemmed  one  minute :  he  hawed  an 
other  ;  then  he  came  out  with  his  purpose  boldly.  He 
was  a  labor  agent  in  quest  of  hands  for  the  mills.  If 
Blair  wished  work  he  could  find  it.  The  Company 
would  receive  applications  again  in  December ;  mean 
while,  in  strict  secrecy,  he  and  his  family  would  be 
found  with  bread  and  beer. 

So  desertion  was  tempted  in  that  crafty  fashion 
Purchasing  the  convictions  of  the  famished  with  a 
breath  of  warm  air  and  a  mess  trivial  even  beside  the 
pottage  of  Esau.  And  the  deserters  were  tricking 
their  comrades,  playing  a  double  part,  one  more  ig- 


SIEGE  445 

nominious  than  the  other!  What  were  these  people 
whom  he  was  trying  to  save  from  themselves?  Be 
cause  they  had  turned  against  him,  the  shepherd  who 
wished  to  guide  them  to  the  promised  land,  he  uttered 
no  syllable  of  blame;  history,  ancient  and  modern, 
warned  him  that  the  occurrence  was  frequent  enough 
to  stamp  it  human  and  excusable ;  but  to  be  false  to 
themselves,  to  their  families,  their  comrades — his  lips 
could  not  frame  the  epithet  strong  enough  to  charac 
terize  their  pusillanimity. 

Blair  moved  to  the  door,  and  into  the  street.  His 
mood  was  black,  funereally  sable.  Evangeline  had 
counseled  wisely ;  he  had  far  better  go  home.  He  was 
letting  his  good  intentions  make  a  laughing-stock  out 
of  his  good  sense.  He  plunged  on  through  the  tangle 
of  sordid  streets,  oblivious  of  the  pain  in  his  shoulder 
that  sharpened  with  every  step. 

He  hastened  along  the  mill  fence,  unmindful  of 
whither  his  steps  tended,  almost  bumping  into  a  soldier 
who  thought  him  a  non-union  hand  on  the  way  to 
work,  and  so  let  him  pass  unchallenged.  He  was  too 
rapt  in  his  somber  thoughts  to  hear  the  reverberation 
and  thunder  of  the  roaring  mills,  or  to  see  the  savage 
lights  that  burst  like  a  midnight  sunset  across  the  sleep 
ing  earth.  He  reached  the  extreme  end  of  the  long 
enclosure  and  came  to  the  huddle  of  houses  occupied 
by  the  non-union  men.  He  turned  west  to  work  his 
way  homeward.  Possibly  he  might  hit  upon  some 
more  ghastly  discoveries.  It  suited  the  bitterness  of 
his  mood  to  taste  the  very  dregs  in  his  nauseating 
cup. 

The  white  glare  from  the  converters  fell  athwart 
the  black  shadow  of  a  man  crouched  on  all  fours, 
resembling  the  outline  of  a  shaggy  Newfoundland 


446  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

dog.  Blair  glided  across  the  street  and  hid  behind 
the  platform  of  a  raised  sidewalk  and  watched 
closely. 

The  sentry  paced  to  and  fro,  down  the  long  range 
of  fence  to  the  clump  of  cottages  that  marked  the  ter 
minus  of  the  mills.  When  he  wheeled  to  begin  his 
march  backward,  the  crouching  figure  arose,  then  it 
dropped  back  on  all  fours  again  and  crawled  up  to  the 
cottage  windows. 

The  man  struck  several  matches,  but  the  high  wind 
blew  them  out,  one  after  the  other.  A  fuse  was  finally 
lit  at  the  end  of  a  short,  thick,  black  object.  Blair  un 
derstood,  his  blood  dropped  like  so  much  lead  to  his 
feet.  The  fellow  proposed  to  blow  up  the  homes  occu 
pied  by  the  "scabs !  "  A  short  run,  a  spring,  a  lunge, 
and  Blair  was  at  the  dastard's  back.  The  fuse  was 
burning  brightly,  sizzing,  and  the  strong  arm  was 
giving  it  a  propelling  swing,  preparatory  to  letting  it 
go.  Blair  caught  the  arm  with  a  downward  jerk. 
The  bomb  fell  on  the  ground.  He  stamped  the  fuse 
out  with  a  horrified  foot.  The  criminal  turned  to 
look  his  aggressor  in  the  face.  The  high  red  flames 
from  the  blast  lit  the  sky  luridly.  It  was  Paul 
Brodski. 

"My  God,  Paul;  you?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Carrhart." 

The  guard  drew  near  on  his  backward  way.  "  Hi, 
there  !  "  he  called.  "  What  are  you  doing  there  ?  " 

Paul  regarded  Blair  narrowly ;  under  the  stress 
of  his  wild  excitement  he  still  held  him  by  the 
wrist. 

"  Nothing,"  answered  Blair,  releasing  his  hold.  He 
could  feel  Paul's  hot  and  relieved  breath  on  his  cheek. 

"  Well,  then,  go  about  your  business." 


SIEGE  447 

They  hastened  away.  It  dawned  on  the  sentinel 
that  the  action  of  these  men  was  extraordinary.  Why 
had  the  big  man  clasped  the  small  chap  by  the  wrist? 
His  foot  stumbled  on  the  iron  pipe.  He  stooped  to 
lift  it.  When  search  was  made  Blair  and  Paul  were 
not  to  be  found, 


XXXVIII 
SURRENDER 

NOVEMBER  came.     Fog  and  dampness  dripped 
from  the  melancholy  atmosphere  like  the  sere 
leaves    from    the    drooping    branches    of    the 
weeping    willows.     It    grew   more    chill    daily;    the 
clammy  air  penetrated  to  the  very  bone  and  marrow. 

All  but  two  companies  of  the  militia  had  decamped. 
The  strikers  were  thoroughly  cowed ;  the  deputies,  re 
duced  to  forty,  coped  successfully  with  the  men  who 
had  cowed  them  before. 

The  thought  of  the  impending  winter  made  the 
bravest  and  strongest  quail.  Without  coal  and  with 
out  food,  how  could  they  hold  out?  How  could  they 
endure?  Threats  of  capitulation  grew  more  and  more 
vociferous,  and  the  promises  of  the  Advisory  Com 
mittee,  golden-hued,  kept  pace  with  the  threats,  and 
the  destitution  increased  with  both. 

Even  the  national  election  with  its  great  Democratic 
victory  failed  to  inspire  hope ;  for,  although  the  strike 
had  undoubtedly  been  the  chief  factor  in  the  gaining 
of  the  political  victory,  the  politicians  showed  not  the 
slightest  inclination  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  strikers. 
It  was  now  common  talk  that  the  Company  had  filled 
its  contract  with  the  government  to  the  letter,  and 
the  ground  caved  in  from  under  the  last  hope  of  the 
leaders. 

448 


SURRENDER  449 

November  merged  into  December;  the  air  was  stiff 
with  cold,  as  if  sheeted  with  an  invisible  covering  of 
ice.  Nature  stubbornly  ranged  itself  on  the  side  of 
capital  and  proved  its  strongest  ally.  The  agony  of 
the  besieged  heightened  to  angor.  Human  beings, 
however  Spartan,  however  stoical,  could  brave  the 
chastisement  no  longer.  Capitulation  was  but  a  ques 
tion  of  clays.  With  bowed  head  and  bent  knee,  the 
mercy,  the  convenience  and  the  terms  of  the  beleaguer- 
ers  were  awaited. 

Shrewdly  and  timely  the  Company  posted  its  third 
notice.  The  mills  would  be  thrown  open  for  employ 
ment  until  the  fifth  day  of  the  month ;  after  that  they 
would  be  permanently  closed  to  all  who  had  in  any 
way  participated  in  the  strike.  It  was  the  last  chance, 
and  the  men  grasped  at  it  convulsively,  lest  the  oppor 
tunity  speed  by  and  they  starve  to  death. 

Two  thousand  of  the  mechanics — masons,  carpen 
ters,  machinists — appointed  their  own  committee  to 
wait  on  the  Advisory  Board  and  demand  that  the 
strike  be  declared  off  and  they  be  abjured  from  their 
bond  of  allegiance.  The  demand  was  refused,  per 
emptorily  and  without  consideration.  The  mechanics 
reflected  on  their  determination,  but  remained  of  the 
same  opinion  still.  At  noon  they  walked  over  to  the 
mills  in  a  body  and  sued  for  reinstatement. 

When  the  news  of  the  abdication  reached  the  foreign 
quarters,  the  laborers  stampeded  to  the  mill  gates  in 
wild  haste,  each  insane  with  the  desire  to  be  there 
first,  lest  his  neighbor  win  the  orize  that  goes  to  the 
swift,  and  the  loser  be  condemned  to  unceasing 
tribulation. 

How  different  the  aspect  of  this  crowd  than  that 
of  the  same  one  which  had  assembled  some  six  months 
29 


450  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ago  to  battle  for  their  rights  to  the  death!  It  was  a 
defeated  army,  and  its  soldiers  bore  all  the  marks  and 
scars  of  battle,  of  terrible  hardship,  of  inevitable  van- 
quishment  obdurately  resisted.  Emaciated,  thinned 
to  the  bone,  shriveled  by  disease,  stunned  to  stupidity 
by  dearth  and  pain,  a  child  could  have  dispersed  them 
with  pebbles.  They  were  so  humble,  so  abased  that 
they  were  ready  to  kiss  the  hand  that  had  cuffed 
them,  to  feed  from  the  palm  that  had  closed  to  make 
a  punitive  fist. 

They  were  half  hysterical,  leaning  on  the  verge  of 
tears ;  so  overwhelmed  were  they  that  the  end  to  their 
superhuman  suffering  had  come,  that  they  might  toil 
night  and  day  again,  and  be  underfed,  underpaid  and 
housed  like  cattle  for  the  wages  of  their  toil.  What 
mattered  it  so  long  as  they  were  fed  and  paid  and 
housed  at  all? 

After  all  they  were  but  mere  beasts  of  burden, 
destined  for  nothing  better  than  to  fetch  and  carry, 
and  they  must  reconcile  themselves  to  whatever  mas 
ter,  cruel  or  kind,  fate  chose  to  grant.  The  women, 
beshawled,  shivering  with  the  cold,  were  at  their 
husbands'  sides,  urging  them  in  droning  and  whining 
repetition  to  be  polite  when  their  turn  for  entering  the 
offices  came,  to  remove  their  hats,  and  walk  carefully 
lest  they  become  obnoxiously  conspicuous. 

Crestfallen,  grief-stricken,  Blair  forced  himself  to 
shamble  over  to  the  mill  gates  and  review  the  army  of 
meek  and  cowed  capitulants.  Indifferent  to  his  pres 
ence,  they  neither  smiled  nor  frowned  upon  him.  Not 
a  welcoming  or  regretful  word  for  all  that  he  had 
sacrificed  in  their  behalf,  not  one  loving  look  for  all 
the  love  he  had  borne  them !  They  gazed  at  him  ston 
ily,  refusing  recognition,  as  if  they  knew  him  not, 


SURRENDER  451 

fearful  lest  emissaries  of  the  Company  be  present  and 
a  slight  proof  of  even  acquaintanceship  with  their 
former  general  cost  them  their  coveted  positions. 

If  the  scalding  tears  could  have  had  their  way,  they 
would  have  gushed  down  Blair's  woe-begone  face ;  and 
not  in  commiseration  of  his  own  thankless  lot,  of  the 
fickleness  of  his  adherents  would  those  tears  have  been 
shed,  but  in  pity,  in  sympathy,  in  love  lasting  as  life, 
for  this  downtrodden  people  who  had  rebelled  against 
a  tyrannical  master  and  who  were  now  bowing  sub 
missively  to  the  yoke  and  the  muzzle  against  which 
they  had  fought  with  such  heroic  and  dauntless 
spirits. 

Hopeless,  forlorn,  with  the  weight  of  a  dead  faith 
oppressing  his  heart,  Blair  turned  to  begin  his  weary, 
homeward  march.  He  gazed  straight  ahead,  his  eyes 
purposely  turned  away  from  the  crowd  of  timid  faces 
bent  on  the  gates. 

"  Hello !  "  came  a  loud  and  arresting  cry. 

Blair  stopped.  Jan  and  Michael,  standing  together 
at  the  end  of  the  line  awaiting  their  turn,  saluted  him 
warmly  and  in  unison. 

They  clasped  Blair's  hand,  and  their  grasp  was  as 
expressive  of  friendship  as  any  words  could  have 
been. 

"  Going  back?  "  choked  out  Blair,  a  lump  gathering 
in  his  throat.  He  could  not  reconcile  himself  to  their 
surrender. 

"  Yes,  we  are  going  back,"  said  Jan,  in  a  strangely 
inflected  tone,  tugging  at  his  red  beard,  an  unfathom 
able  light  flashing  through  his  dreamy  eyes. 

"And  Paul?"  queried  Blair. 

Jan  shook  his  head  as  if  in  absolute  ignorance  as 
to  Paul's  intention. 


452  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

"  Very  sorry  we  have  to  give  up,  Mr.  Carrhart," 
said  Jan,  consolingly.  "  You  have  been  a  brave 
man." 

Michael,  peculiarly  lugubrious  and  taciturn,  shook 
a  sad  head  in  approval  of  Jan's  sentiments. 

Blair  hastened  away,  overcome,  the  tears  he  had 
restrained  trickling  down  his  furrowed  cheeks,  freed 
from  his  control  by  those  few  expressions  of  com 
passion. 

The  gates  were  thrown  open ;  the  crowd  warred  for 
entrance.  Three  clerks  were  busied  in  writing  papers 
for  the  abdicators  to  sign.  Marvin  was  in  the  room, 
grimly  supervising  the  reemployment,  throwing  out 
the  applications  as  the  whim  suited  him ;  standing 
there  like  a  god  of  war,  as  if  the  destiny  of  battles 
had  been  in  his  hands  before  the  hurling  of  the  first 
thunderbolt. 

That  night  the  Amalgamated  Association  held  its 
last  secret  meeting.  The  gravity  of  the  present  situ 
ation  brought  forth  the  unusual  attendance  of  three 
hundred  members.  There  was  but  one  resolution  for 
the  house  to  consider — should  the  strike  be  aban 
doned  and  the  mills  declared  open  to  union  men? 

To  gaze  on  those  faces  shrouded  in  gloom  and  re 
flect  that  in  this  very  place  not  many  months  ago  they 
shone  enraptured  with  courage,  fine  hope  and  noble 
conviction,  made  Blair's  heart  bleed.  Oh,  to  look 
on  that  picture  and  then  on  this !  It  was  comparable 
only  to  beholding  the  launching  of  a  proud  ship  and 
then  viewing  its  tangled  and  storm-beaten  wreckage. 

When  the  question  was  put  to  the  house  for  dis 
cussion,  Blair,  mastering  his  drooping  spirits,  arose 
to  speak.  They  listened  to  him  patiently,  rather  with 
forbearance  than  interest,  rather  out  of  consideration 


SURRENDER  453 

for  the  eloquence  that  had  animated  them  in  the  past 
than  for  what  he  might  say  now. 

His  oration  was  an  impassioned  plea  against  the 
capitulation  of  the  unions.  To  yield  would  be  to 
cause  the  disintegration  of  the  Amalgamated  Associ 
ation  that  had  so  faithfully  subserved  their  ends  and 
to  hasten  the  downfall  of  organized  labor.  The  me 
chanics  and  day  laborers  had  returned  to  the  injury 
of  unionism,  but  not  to  its  destruction;  if  the  ton 
nage  men  seceded  the  cause  of  unionism  would  be 
forever  doomed  in  Marvin.  They  would  be  at  the 
Company's  mercy  for  all  time  to  come,  and  they  well 
knew  how  merciless  the  Company  was.  To  hold  out 
a  little  longer  would  be  to  win ;  the  enemy  proved  the 
incontrovertibility  of  this  assertion  by  their  frequent 
endeavors  to  induce  the  surrender.  They  had  been 
battling  for  the  maintenance  of  principles  as  well  as 
for  stomachs ;  rather  starvation  for  their  stomachs , 
than  death  for  their  principles. 

He  tried  to  speak  of  his  own  personal  feelings  in 
the  matter,  of  all  it  meant  to  him,  what  he  had  en 
dured  for  it,  what  he  was  still  ready  and  anxious  to 
endure,  of  his  love  for  his  fellows  at  whose  side  he 
had  both  toiled  and  fought ;  and  his  voice  grew 
husky,  trembling  and  quavering  into  inaudibility;  his 
chest  heaved  and  throbbed,  and  he  broke  down. 

They  left  their  seats  and  formed  a  circle  of  loyal 
friendship  around  him.  They  pressed  his  hand  sym 
pathetically,  they  touched  his  shoulders  affectionately. 
They  assured  him  in  fervent  voices  of  their  high  es 
teem  for  his  stanch  character,  his  candor,  his  fear 
lessness,  his  incorruptibility.  They  pledged  their 
friendship,  no  matter  what  came,  no  matter  what  the 
night's  decision. 


454  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  gavel  tapped  on  the  chairman's  table;  the  house 
gradually  subsided  into  order.  A  standing  vote  was 
taken.  A  majority  of  eight  declared  the  mills  open. 
Blair's  speech  and  manner  had  all  but  turned  the 
tide ;  his  appeal  had  changed  the  decision  of  over  one 
hundred  men.  The  mechanics  and  laborers  had  set 
the  ball  rolling,  and  the  tonnage  men  were  carried 
along  with  the  rolling  of  the  ball. 

Xo  outburst  greeted  the  decision,  not  a  ripple  of 
applause  on  the  one  side,  not  a  hiss  on  the  other.  In 
silence,  in  shame,  in  utter  abjection,  the  three  hundred 
moved  slowly  out  of  the  hall.  The  great  strike  at 
Marvin  was  over ;  the  long  battle  irretrievably  lost ; 
unionism  had  rung  its  own  death  knell.  The  Advis 
ory  Committee  disbanded ;  the  complicated  machinery 
of  the  strike  was  dissevered. 

On  the  morrow  the  tonnage  men  followed  the  labor 
ers  and  took  their  turns  in  the  line  stretching  out  from 
the  gates.  They  were  admitted  in  groups  of  three. 
Those  who  were  "  blacklisted  "  as  agitators  or  as  dan 
gerous,  against  whom  was  the  slightest  suspicion,  were 
turned  away. 

There  still  remained  one  small  band  undaunted,  un- 
conquered,  invincible.  The  anarchists  were  not  even 
taken  into  consideration  by  the  Company,  and  their 
existence  was  unknown  to  the  body  of  the  workmen. 
The  Amalgamated  Association  had  seen  the  battle 
terminate  far  different  than  its  plans ;  the  anarchists 
had  made  no  plans,  they  were  quietly  awaiting  the 
outcome  of  events,  and  by  the  hint  it  gave  would  they 
speak.  When  the  strength  of  the  others  was  ex 
hausted  would  they  exert  their  -own  :  and  when  the 
combat  was  lost  (they  had  predicted  from  the  begin 
ning  that  it  would  be),  they  would  recover  the  loss 


SURRENDER  455 

and  turn  the  day.  The  others  had  accepted  the  con 
ditions  of  the  dictators ;  they  intended  to  annihilate  the 
tyrants  and  the  unfair  terms  they  had  imposed  on  the 
conquered. 

For  the  greater  part,  indeed  with  but  few  excep 
tions,  they  had  watched  the  tendency  of  events  without 
participating  in  any  event  that  helped  to  make  the 
tendency.  Regularly  they  held  their  meetings  in  the 
hall  over  a  saloon  owned  by  a  member  of  their  society. 
La  Vette  was  there  often,  presiding  frequently,  direct 
ing  the  making  of  chemicals  that  were  to  be  used  when 
the  moment  came.  The  Russian  woman,  Sophia 
Goldstein,  was  there  always.  Jan  and  Paul  were 
rarely  absent ;  and  since  the  slaughter  of  his  brothers 
and  sisters  Michael  had  been  induced  to  join  the  or 
ganization. 

The  handful  of  the  faithful  had  steadily  waxed 
throughout  the  months  of  the  strike,  and  it  numbered 
over  sixty  members  now ;  but  small  as  it  was  their 
power  of  destruction  was  greater  than  that  of  the 
five  thousand  strikers.  On  the  evening  of  the  Amal 
gamated  Association's  formal  surrender  all  non 
sense  was  deemed  to  have  ended,  and  on  the  evening 
thereafter  the  anarchists  met  to  begin  their  attack  in 
earnest. 

Proceedings  were  opened  by  voting  Henry  Marvin 
a  dangerous  enemy  to  society ;  an  obstruction  in  the 
pathway  of  evolution.  He  was  to  be  blown  aside. 
The  next  step  was  the  delegating  an  assassin  for  the 
purpose. 

Sixty  pellets  of  paper  were  numbered  and  dropped 
in  a  red  ballot  box;  and  at  the  same  time  a  scarlet  cloth 
with  a  large  figure  four  worked  in  black  on  its  face 
was  hung  on  the  wall.  Without  the  mentioning  of 


456  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

one  word  each  understood  that  the  drawing  of  that 
numeral  would  assign  him  irrevocably  to  a  task  that 
meant  death  for  the  assassin  as  well  as  the  assassi 
nated. 

All  began  to  realize  what  the  deed  meant — they  were 
drawing  anear  the  gallows  in  a  body  and  one  of  them 
was  inevitably  fated  to  mount  the  perilous  height 
from  which  he  would  never  descend  to  rejoin  the  rest. 
Sixty  dark  faces  grew  contracted  and  tense.  The 
chilly,  dank  hall  was  grewsomely  silent,  like  the  bare 
gallows  in  an  empty  jail-yard.  So  still  it  was  that 
one  might  have  thought  it  possible  to  distinguish  the 
heavy  breathing  of  each  separate  member. 

The  pellets  were  emptied  from  the  ballot  box  on  a 
black  velvet  cloth  that  covered  a  small  tripod.  Each 
member  came  forward,  drew,  and  remained  standing. 
The  stolid  countenances — blank,  to  all  appearances  in 
different — reflected  no  trace  or  shadow  of  fear.  They 
were  as  calm,  as  unconcerned  as  if  they  had  been  play 
ing  at  lotto  for  pennies. 

La  Vette's  turn  was  fast  coming.  He  removed  his 
glasses  and  rubbed  the  red  mark  on  the  bridge  of  his 
nose.  He  was  perturbed  and  nervous,  and  his  hand 
trembled  tellingly.  The  top  of  his  bald  head  was  hot 
and  he  rubbed  it  almost  absently  with  his  scented 
cambric  handkerchief.  He  was  a  sybarite  to  the  finest 
atom  in  his  podgy  body,  but  in  his  whole  make-up 
there  was  not  one  atom  of  cowardice.  He  had  faced 
death  on  many  occasions  without  flinching  or  fearing. 

He  was  not  afraid  now,  he  told  himself;  he  was  as 
ready  to-day  as  yesterday  or  the  day  before  to  snap 
his  fingers  at  a  life  not  worth  the  living.  Why  was 
his  breath  scant  then,  what  rasped  his  nerves,  what 
heated  his  fishy  blood  and  sent  it  beating  to  his  bald 


SURRENDER  457 

crown  ?  Bah,  the  affair  was  banal,  low ;  it  smacked 
too  much  of  the  stews,  the  hulks,  the  blind  alleys  where 
the  offal  of  humanity  skulked.  No,  no ;  it  was  not 
that ;  this  view  of  the  case  had  presented  itself  to  him 
fifteen  minutes  ago  and  was  laughed  to  scorn.  What 
was  it,  then? 

Evangeline's  face  was  before  him,  smiling,  demure, 
innocent  as  a  babe  new-born.  He  could  not  rid  him 
self  of  its  presence ;  his  thoughts  could  not  elude  its 
insistent  vigilance.  She  believed  in  him ;  she  trusted 
him  in  a  way  that  touched  his  callous  heart.  Could  he 
forget  that  night  of  the  cotillon  when  her  voice,  the 
touch  of  her  arm,  the  look  in  her  sincere  eyes,  had 
hushed  his  baneful  cynicism  and  made  him  regret  he 
was  what  he  was?  And  he?  Well,  he  was  ready 
to  admit  that  he  was  drawn  to  her,  that  despite  himself 
he  liked  her;  and  the  admission  in  no  wise  cor 
responded  with  the  depth  of  his  feeling.  And  now  to 
return  her  trustfulness,  her  kindliness,  by  walking  into 
her  father's  office  in  cold  blood  and  striking  him 
down! 

"Monsieur  La  Vette!"  bawled  Sophia  Goldstein, 
her  black  eyes  snapping,  her  long  prehensile  fingers 
clutching  the  velvet  that  hung  over  the  sides  of  the 
tripod.  His  colleagues  turned,  amazed  at  his  hesitancy. 
He  started  as  if  struck  in  the  face ;  then  he  arose  from 
his  chair  and  walked  towards  the  pellets  that  were  to 
decide  his  fate.  His  owl-like  eyes  were  cold ;  his  face 
without  expression,  nothing,  not  the  twitching  of  a 
single  nerve  disclosed  the  agitation  he  had  undergone 
a  moment  ago.  He  was  simply  dreaming,  thought  the 
others. 

La  Vette  drew  with  steady  hand ;  perhaps  a  prayer 
for  himself,  for  Evangeline,  fluttered  through  his 


458          BY  BREAD  ALONE 

heart ;  perhaps  not ;  there  was  nothing-  to  tell  it.  He 
opened  the  paper.  It  was  four ! 

His  eyes  blinked ;  his  lips  turned  white,  ashen ;  his 
dark  Van  Dyke  beard  seemed  to  grow  blacker  from 
the  sudden  contrast.  Paul  Brodski  and  Sophia  Gold 
stein,  watching  the  chemist  narrowly,  looked  at  each 
other  stealthily ;  La  Vette's  conduct  had  let  the  number 
out  of  the  paper  and  told  them  all. 

La  Vette's  arm  dropped  laxly  to  his  side;  his  short 
fingers  closed  over  the  slip  gingerly  as  if  the  thing 
were  branding  his  hand.  His  thoughts  went  whirling 
up  and  down  an  endless  maze.  Evangeline's  counte 
nance  hovered  over  him  in  tearful  and  accusing  sup 
plication. 

One  by  one  each  member  read  aloud  the  number  he 
had  drawn  and  it  was  checked  ofT  against  his  name. 

"  Twenty !  "  called  Sophia  Goldstein,  who  came 
first. 

"  Eight !  "  declared  Jan  Brodski. 

"  Four!  *'  called  out  Paul,  loud  and  triumphantly. 

La  Vette  was  thrown  out  of  his  abstraction  as  a 
somnambulist  is  awakened  by  the  shaking  of  rude 
hands.  He  stared  at  Paul  dumfounded,  the  thin  lips 
of  his  mouth  opening  circle-wise. 

"  You  have  made  a  mistake,"  La  Vette  wished  to 
say ;  but  a  momentary  paralysis  robbed  his  organs  of 
speech,  of  the  power  of  expression. 

"  Monsieur  La  Vette !  "  called  the  woman  twice. 

"  Twenty-eight,"  he  responded  huskily,  unrolling 
the  pellet  crumbled  in  his  fretting  hand. 

The  reading  of  the  numbers  continued.  La  Vette 
was  breathing  easily,  with  a  sense  of  relief  and  satis 
faction,  like  one  who  has  been  restored  to  breath  after 
a  violent  concussion.  He  was  deep  in  thought,  trying 


SURRENDER  459 

to  solve  the  reason  for  his  fatal  mistake.  Had  his  own 
eyes  played  a  trick  upon  his  terrified  imagination? 
Had  the  very  fear  of  drawing  the  number  he  dreaded 
made  him  cheat  reality  with  an  illusion  inspired  by 
horror  ? 

Paul  Brodski  and  Sophia  Goldstein  could  alone  have 
allayed  the  agitation  of  La  Vette's  questioning  mind. 
When  the  tremor  of  excitement  wavered  over  the  chem 
ist's  face,  Paul,  encouraged  by  the  woman's  furtive 
glances,  took  the  pellet  from  La  Vette's  feeble  grasp, 
and  substituted  the  number  that  had  fallen  to  his  lot. 

The  action,  swift  and  unpremeditated  as  was  its  per 
formance,  had  its  reasons.  The  youthful  Pole  burned 
with  the  mad  and  mistaken  ambition  to  die  in  martyr 
dom  for  the  cause,  and  La  Vette's  tattling  countenance 
evinced  his  unfitness  for  the  perilous  mission ;  more 
over,  the  chemist  was  needed  for  greater  and  more  im 
portant  work — work  that  none  other  but  himself  could 
execute.  A  general  was  not  to  be  risked  for  a  task 
that  a  common  soldier  was  willing  and  able  to  ac 
complish. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning — a  half  hour  be 
fore  the  time  agreed  upon  for  the  slaying  of  Marvin — 
Paul  Brodski,  accompanied  by  his  mistress,  walked 
over  to  the  mill  gate.  The  woman,  in  doubt  lest  his 
courage  fail  at  the  critical  moment,  kept  his  fanatical 
enthusiasm  at  fever  heat  with  her  turgid  eloquence, 
with  the  relation  of  the  heroic  deed  that  an  endless 
number  of  martyrs  had  dared  for  the  cause.  The  de 
luded  youth's  blue  eyes  were,  bright  and  expanded  with 
the  light  of  dreams.  He  was  calm,  self-possessed,  his 
pulse  regular  as  when  he  had  started  for  his  day's 
work  inside  the  mill.  Sophia's  exhortation  was  su 
perfluous. 


460  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

The  tail  end  of  the  line  of  applicants  for  reinstal- 
ment  was  still  at  the  mill  gate  and  Paul  met  with  no 
difficulty  in  gaining  his  entrance.  Gentle  in  appear 
ance,  his  countenance  mild  and  soft  to  innocence,  there 
was  no  reason  to  suspect  that  in  his  heart  there  lurked 
a  desire  for  murder.  He  failed  to  gain  his  interview 
with  Marvin  at  the  hour  the  corps  had  appointed  for 
the  president's  slaughter.  Paul  joined  his  mistress 
outside  and  accompanied  her  home.  At  noon  the  con 
spirator  returned. 

He  managed  to  slink  inside  the  ante-room  that  ad 
joined  Marvin's  private  office.  None  was  there  but 
the  office  boy.  Paul  drew  a  card  from  his  pocket  and 
requested  that  it  be  handed  to  Marvin.  The  door  was 
scarcely  opened  and  shut  when  the  poor  fool  of  his 
insane  convictions  plunged  forward  and  opened  fire 
on  the  president,  busily  engaged  at  his  large  writing- 
table. 

Three  shots  were  fired  in  quick  succession.  Marvin 
staggered  to  his  feet,  reeled,  and  clutched  at  his  chair 
for  support.  Two  bullets  had  lodged  in  his  neck;  the 
third  imbedded  itself  in  the  high  ceiling. 

The  assassin's  hand  pressed  the  trigger  for  the 
fourth  time,  but  the  cartridge  did  not  respond  to  his 
pressure.  Wounded  and  faint,  Marvin  tottered  to 
wards  his  assailant  to  defend  himself.  He  uttered 
no  cry  ;  he  recognized  the  futility  of  wasting  the  second 
upon  the  full  use  of  which  his  existence  depended. 
The  lines  of  the  converging  V  were  furrowed  deep 
through  his  forehead ;  his  face  was  the  incarnation  of 
will. 

Again  and  again  the  trigger  hammered  an  obdurate 
cartridge.  Marvin,  seizing  his  one  opportunity,  fell 
against  Paul  with  all  the  weight  of  his  heavier  body, 


SURRENDER  461 

threw  him  against  the  wall,  and  caught  him  by  the 
wrists  with  all  the  strength  he  could  wrench  from  des 
peration. 

The  whole  encounter  lasted  but  a  minute.  The 
force  of  clerks,  at  luncheon  in  the  adjoining  building, 
did  not  hear  a  sound;  and  the  office  boy  had  strolled 
outside.  A  group  of  four  men  stood  in  the  yard  and 
watched  the  combat  through  the  windows,  transfixed 
with  horror,  questioning  their  senses.  Two  of  the 
more  present-minded,  broke  the  bonds  of  fascination 
and  rushed  to  Marvin's  rescue. 

Strong  hands  made  Paul  Brodski's  struggle  for  free 
dom  futile ;  and  while  Marvin  was  being  removed  to 
the  Company's  hospital,  his  would-be  executioner  was 
on  the  way  to  jail.  The  president  still  retained  his 
consciousness  and  he  gave  thankful  nods  of  recogni 
tion  to  the  examining  physicians.  They  wished  to 
administer  an  anesthetic  before  probing  for  the  bul 
lets  ;  but  he  fought  their  intention  stubbornly.  He 
would  have  none  of  that ;  pain  had  no  horrors  for  him ; 
he  insisted  upon  watching  what  they  did. 

The  operation  lasted  for  two  hours ;  Marvin  grit  his 
teeth  and  through  all  that  insufferable  time  not  one 
moan  escaped  his  lips.  No  sooner  were  the  bullets  ex 
tracted  and  the  wounds  bandaged  than  he  suborned 
several  of  the  heads  of  the  departments  and  dictated 
his  orders.  He  signed  important  documents  which 
were  awaiting  his  signature  when  the  assassin  opened 
his  attack. 

The  news  of  the  attempted  murder  spread  through 
the  town  as  the  lightning  ziezags  through  the  spaces 
of  the  sky.  The  men  left  their  work  in  the  mill  and 
swept  to  the  office  buildings.  Crowds  swarmed  to  the 
mill  gates.  The  truth  was  violated,  the  telling  exag- 


462  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Derated  the  tragedy.  The  president  was  killed  by  the 
first  of  eight  riddling-  bullets !  His  dead  body  lay  in 
the  hospital!  The  murderer,  his  identity  unknown, 
was  still  at  large ! 

The  small  and  almost  insignificant  fraction  that  re 
joiced  over  the  punishment  of  their  oppressor  was 
silent  in  its  exultation.  They  had  paid  enough  for  the 
strike;  it  was  but  an  equable  compensation  that  Mar 
vin  should  pay  his  share!  A  few  stray  whispers 
winged  their  way  from  ear  to  ear ;  muttered  remarks, 
half  stifled,  of  "  It  served  him  right.  He  got  his  re 
ward  at  last.  A  man  usually  gets  what's  coming  to 
him."  It  was  as  if  they  feared  that  this  unconquerable 
man  of  iron  might  come  to  life  again  and  punish 
those  who  had  passed  harsh  criticism  over  his  death 
bed. 

It  was  after  one  o'clock  when  Evangeline  ran 
through  the  excited  town  to  the  front  doors  of  the 
Company's  hospital.  She  was  one  of  the  last  whom 
the  report  reached.  She  had  almost  fainted  away  in 
Blair's  arms  when  a  busybody  broke  the  appalling 
news,  without  even  a  crude  preparation.  She  looked 
at  Blair,  quite  pale,  then  she  turned  and  fled,  quicker 
than  he  could  follow. 

The  nurse  who  answered  her  agitated  ring  refused 
her  admission.  "  But  I'm  his  daughter,  Evangeline," 
she  sobbed  out.  Marvin  was  resting  in  apparent  com 
fort  when  the  messenger  entered  to  announce  his 
daughter. 

He  thought  a  second,  then  he  said  positively,  "  Let 
her  come  in/'  He  lifted  himself  in  his  bed  and  clung 
to  its  sides  with  his  hands. 

Evangeline  glided  into  the  room,  giving  vent  to  an 
exclamation  that  was  half  smothered  in  the  utterance. 


SURRENDER  463 

She  fell  on  her  knees  beside  him  and  buried  her  head 
in  the  bed-covering. 

"  Well  ?  "  he  asked  coldly,  containing  himself. 

She  answered  nothing,  bursting  into  repeated  sobs. 

"  You  see  what  the  teachings  of  your — your  lover 
have  brought  about?  I  suppose  he's  almost  satisfied 
now.'' 

She  answered  nothing;  she  scarcely  heard;  it  was 
only  afterwards  when  she  recalled  the  scene  that  she 
felt  the  pointed  barbs  of  those  words  pricking  her 
heart;  she  did  not  even  know  then  that  she  had  been 
wounded. 

"  Come,  you'd  better  go  now.  You've  shown  what 
a  dutiful  daughter  you  are — that's  sufficient,  I  pre 
sume."  His  voice  was  hard,  ironical  and  forbidding. 

He  drew  his  hand  away  from  hers  and  lifted  it  to 
wards  his  breast.  He  wavered  a  second;  a  longing, 
intense,  natural,  fundamental,  seized  and  almost  mas 
tered  him.  He  did  so  yearn  for  human  affection  at 
that  moment,  something  outside  of  a  business  transac 
tion,  that  was  neither  bought  nor  yet  paid  for.  And 
he  missed  Evangeline ;  since  they  had  parted,  sneer  at 
it  to  himself  as  he  would,  there  was  always  in  his  heart 
the  unbearable  sensation  of  emptiness,  of  a  welcome 
tenant  that  had  brought  sunshine  and  vanished  to  leave 
its  chambers  to  darkness. 

Evangeline  was  gazing  at  him  wistfully,  yearningly ; 
there  was  no  doubting  the  sincerity  of  the  love  that 
shone  through  her  eyes,  dimmed  with  tears. 

His  hand,  half  way  towards  his  breast,  fell  back  and 
rested  on  her  head.  She  took  his  hand  in  hers  and 
covered  it  with  her  kisses. 


XXXIX 
THE  SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL 

\  MEETING  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  mill  had 
already  been  calendared  for  a  date  that 
chanced  to  fall  just  a  week  after  Marvin's 
injury  and  the  council  would  have  been  postponed 
did  not  Marvin  resist  the  plan  so  stoutly.  There 
was  important  business  to  be  transacted,  matters 
of  vital  significance  that  needed  an  immediate  decision ; 
and  Marvin  insisted  that  he  was  well  enough,  vigor 
ous  enough,  physically  and  mentally,  to  attend. 

Moreover  the  president  had  two  or  three  ideas 
which  he  wished  voted  upon  and  carried  at  once — ideas 
entirely  his  own  that  would  come  in  the  nature  of  a 
revelation  to  his  subordinates.  Nothing  pleased 
Henry  Marvin  better  than  to  lay  a  card  long  hidden 
in  his  sleeve  face  to  the  table  and  watch  the  conster 
nation  of  those  who  never  suspected  its  existence — 
there  was  that  trifle  of  the  spectacular  in  his  nature. 
Deliberative,  conservative  though  he  usually  was,  he 
looked  towards  the  coming  of  the  event  with  radical 
impatience. 

Marvin's  illness,  his  miraculous  escape  from  death, 
his  reconcilement  to  Evangeline,  set  his  mind  on  a  line 
of  thought  that  ran  in  direct  opposition  to  what  long 
years  had  made  his  second  nature.  In  all  these  things 
he  saw  the  hands  of  an  intervening  providence :  super- 

464 


SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL      465 

stition,  ever  lying  in  wait  for  signs  of  weakness  in 
strong  minds,  played  an  equal  part  with  thankfulness 
in  his  sudden  conversion  to  the  religious  idea.  The 
harsher  tones  in  his  character  were  subdued  to  gentler 
colors ;  and  the  man  was  wondrously  mellowed  and 
softened. 

Besides,  and  more  potent  than  all  of  these,  Marvin 
recognized  that  life  at  its  best  was  uncertain  and  that 
the  number  of  his  years  might  be  told  off  at  any  mo 
ment.  Why  burn  out  his  old  age  in  the  mad  quest  for 
inordinate  fortune  when  the  enjoyment  and  use  of  the 
millions  he  had  was  impossible?  Why  waste  his 
energies  in  the  achievement  of  world-wide  schemes 
when  he  might  not  live  to  witness  their  consummation  ? 

The  last  battle  of  his  life  had  been  one  of  his  great 
est  victories,  and  to  the  victor  generosity,  like  the 
spoils,  should  belong;  and  he  would  be  generous,  if 
only  to  show  the  world  and  his  men  that  he  was  ready 
to  grant  by  free  will  what  they  could  not  wrench  from 
him  by  force  or  arrogant  dictation.  After  all,  mag 
nanimity  was  an  imperial  quality,  and  all  things,  spirit 
ual  or  material,  appealed  to  Marvin  when  mapped  out 
on  a  vast  scale. 

He  would  still  refuse  to  increase  wages  to  the  per 
centage  demanded  by  the  recalcitrant  unionists ;  but  he 
was  ready  to  make  liberal  concessions.  He  would 
concede  the  time  terms.  He  would  adjust  rents  and 
repairs  on  a  fair  basis.  In  the  future  wrong  might 
occur  in  his  mills,  but  there  would  be  no  arbitrary  in 
justice  with  his  connivance.  Already  several  of  the 
most  serious  cases  against  the  strikers  had  been  tried 
in  court  and  the  juries  had  returned  verdicts  of  not 
guilty.  He  would  use  his  influence  and  all  the  techni 
cal  knowledge  of  his  attorneys  in  having  the  indict- 
30 


466  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

ments  against  the  other  imprisoned  malefactors 
crushed. 

The  morning  for  the  conference  of  the  powers  came, 
and  Marvin,  apparently  as  determined  as  in  his  best 
days,  was  wheeled  over  to  the  offices  in  his  invalid's 
chair ;  on  no  account  would  he  hear  of  the  officers  as 
sembling  in  the  solarium  of  the  hospital. 

Nor  was  Marvin  the  only  one  awaiting  the  meet 
ing  with  yearning  impatience ;  La  Vette  and  the  birds 
of  his  own  black  feather  had  had  their  eyes  fastened 
upon  it  as  the  pivot  that  was  to  serve  for  the  swinging 
of  a  vast  anarchistic  enterprise.  When  congregated 
Marvin  and  his  capitalistic  colleagues  would  represent 
untold  millions ;  and  if  luck  were  only  with  the  autono 
mists,  if  the  council  were  but  held  in  the  mill  office, 
they  would  have  an  opportunity,  rarely  offered  before, 
of  blowing  aside  at  one  puff  these  heavy  obstacles  that 
blocked  the  road  to  the  liberty  and  progress  of  man 
kind. 

When  La  Vette  acted,  the  others  were  to  act  with 
him.  Signals  flashed  across  the  yards  were  to  warn 
every  anarchist  in  the  mill.  If  one  acted  separately, 
the  rest  would  be  sure  to  be  apprehended  and  their 
combined  usefulness  thwarted.  They  were  to  destroy 
all  they  could  and  together.  A  minute's  delay  in  the 
plans  might  mean  a  delay  unto  all  eternity.  A  war 
of  extermination  had  been  planned  with  precision. 

Samples  of  the  steel  poured  from  the  ladles  of  the 
various  departments  were  submitted  to  the  laboratory 
for  tests ;  and  by  one  of  the  messengers  who  carried 
the  material  for  analysis  to  the  head  chemist,  word 
was  sent  forth  that  all  was  well. 

At  ten  the  meeting  of  the  directors  was  called  to 
order ;  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  that  time,  in  a  room 


SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL      467 

in  the  basement  which  served  the  purposes  of  his 
private  laboratory,  La  Vette  was  whistling  the  Mar 
seillaise  and  examining  the  wires  which  connected  his 
infernal  machines.  A  touch  of  his  finger  on  an  electric 
button  and  his  part  of  the  work  was  done. 

La  Vette  looked  at  his  watch  impatiently.  Ten- 
thirty  was  the  time  chosen  for  concerted  action  and  it 
lacked  but  forty-five  minutes  now.  Everything  was 
in  readiness.  Still  whistling,  the  chemist  let  his  finger 
rest  lightly,  lightly  on  the  electric  button.  A  slightly 
stronger  pressure  and  not  one  stone  •  of  that  solid  struc 
ture  would  rest  on  top  of  the  other,  and  he  himself 
would  lie  under  the  ruins. 

Ten  o'clock  came.  He  ceased  his  whistling,  re 
moved  his  glasses,  rubbed  the  red  mark  on  the  bridge 
of  his  nose  and  fell  to  thinking,  putting  his  house  of 
thought  in  order  before  it  was  swept  out  of  existence. 
He  was  tranquil  and  possessed ;  there  was  nothing  that 
disturbed  him,  nothing  which  he  wished  to  do  in 
the  world,  no  action  of  his  which  he  wished  to 
undo. 

He  placed  his  timepiece  on  the  edge  of  the  zinc,  felt 
of  his  pulse  and  counted.  It  was  normal :  regular  as 
the  beat  of  the  second-hand  of  his  watch.  His  assur 
ance  was  reassured.  All  morning  long  a  peculiar 
nervous  dread  that  escaped  his  analysis  had  whispered 
within  him,  "  When  the  time  comes  you  won't  press 
the  button,  you  won't  press  the  button."  He  sneered 
the  voice  down  now,  wondering  how  he  could  have 
paid  it  the  merit  of  serious  attention. 

Fifteen  minutes  after  ten.  Why  had  no  response 
come  from  the  conspirators  to  signalize  that  they  too 
W'ere  ready?  Had  the  cipher  that  his  words  concealed 
been  correctly  translated  ?  He  turned  to  lock  the  door 


468  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

of  his  room,  take  a  short  quick  survey  on  the  ouside 
and  return.  He  might  possibly  be  wanted  in  the  main 
laboratory  and  his  prolonged  absence  might  be  a  cause 
for  comment.  He  looked  out  of  the  window  into  the 
yards. 

La  Vette  almost  screamed  aloud.  Evangeline  Mar 
vin  was  mounting  the  stairs  that  led  to  the  hall  of  the 
offices.  He  was  impelled  to  open  the  window  and  cry 
out  a  warning,  as  if  to  prevent  her  from  taking  another 
step  that  would  hurl  her  in  the  swallowing  darkness 
of  a  bottomless  pit. 

He  pressed  his  face  against  the  window  pane  and 
bit  his  thin  under-lip.  Evangeline  disappeared  from 
view.  The  chemist  heard  the  hammer  of  his  heart 
crash  against  the  tympanum  of  his  ear.  He  felt  in 
his  pocket  for  his  watch,  then  he  remembered  having 
left  it  on  the  edge  of  the  zinc.  He  ran  over  to  look. 
It  lacked  but  twelve  minutes  of  the  time. 

An  obvious  idea  occurred  to  him.  No,  that  was  im 
possible  ;  he  dared  not  warn  her.  Better  that  both 
of  them  should  meet  death  together  than  that  she 
should  know,  during  his  life  at  least,  what  manner  of 
man  he  was.  The  sweat  stood  out  in  beads  on  his 
bald  head  and  he  wiped  it  off  with  his  handkerchief. 
One  thing  was  certain,  absolute,  beyond  the  reach  of 
skepticism  or  scoffing — he  loved  her  deeply,  intensely. 
His  agitation,  his  solicitude  for  her  life  when  he  cared 
not  for  his  own,  told  him  so. 

H€  shut  his  eyes,  trying  to  empty  his  brain  of  every 
distressing  thought  and  remain  cool  and  collected. 
But  one  hope  remained ;  the  others  might  demand  a 
delay.  A  man  on  the  bridge  was  to  give  the  final 
signal.  La  Vette  bounded  to  the  window.  His  hope 
was  still-born.  An  apparent  loiterer  dropped  his  ban- 


SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL      469 

dana  handkerchief  on  the  floor  of  the  bridge.  All 
was  ready. 

La  Vette  glued  his  face  to  the  window  again  and 
fixed  his  gaze  on  the  office  steps,  as  men  in  a  sinking 
vessel  watch  the  oncoming  of  a  life-boat.  He  held 
his  watch  in  the  palm  of  his  sweaty  hand.  It  lacked 
but  seven  minutes.  His  pulse  beat  loud,  as  if  plead 
ing  for  her  young  and  fleckless  life  like  a  voice. 

When  the  office  buildings  fell,  the  others  were  to 
begin  their  work  and  wreck  the  separate  mills  in  quick 
succession.  They  were  all  madmen ;  not  one  of  them 
was  a  coward.  The  chances  of  escape  had  not  even 
entered  into  their  calculation.  They  were  ready,  one 
and  all,  nay,  even  resolved,  upon  dying  with  those 
whom  they  killed. 

Jan  was  at  his  post  on  the  charging-floor  of  the  high 
blast-furnace,  toiling  along  unconcernedly,  guiding  the 
iron  food  towards  the  belly  of  the  roaring  monster  as 
if  there  were  nothing  to  differ  this  morning  from  any 
other  morning.  As  the  hour  drew  nearer  and  nearer, 
he  ceased  his  labor,  remained  still  a  second  or  two  and 
plucked  at  his  red  beard.  The  unfathomable  light 
gleamed  across  his  dreamy  blue  eyes  as  he  glanced  at 
his  coat,  under  which  the  explosives  were  hidden;  then 
he  continued  his  interrupted  task. 

Michael's  station,  relatively  the  same  as  his  brother's, 
was  on  the  charging-floor  of  the  spiegel-furnace,  which 
adjoined  the  steel-mill.  The  wind  was  from  the  east 
that  morning  and  Michael  was  almost  overcome  by 
the  gas  generated  from  the  cooking  spiegel.  He 
crossed  his  arms  on  the  window  ledge,  and  drawing 
in  the  fresh  air  he  gazed  far  out  on  the  lake. 

His  head  was  hot  and  his  mouth  was  parched ;  ex 
citement  was  growing  beyond  his  control  and  he 


470          BY  BREAD  ALONE 

dreaded  lest  his  nerve  fail  him  at  the  crucial  moment 
He  wondered  how  it  went  with  Jan.  After  all  he 
would  liked  to  have  said  good-by  to  his  brother  again. 
Nature  had  something  to  say  even  though  the  laws 
of  the  society  refused  to  recognize  the  binding  ties  of 
all  human  affections. 

With  Jan  it  was  probably  different.  He  was  never 
attached  to  life  overly  much.  If  anarchists  are  born 
and  not  made,  Jan  was  a  natural  anarchist.  Not  so 
with  him.  The  slaughter  of  his  brothers  and  sisters 
had  turned  his  heart  and  made  it  hard  and  unforgiv 
ing;  and  at  last,  by  constant  argument  and  entreaty, 
he  had  been  won  over  to  the  anarchists'  side  by  Paul 
and  Jan.  Yet  he  had  always  loved  the  world  and  the 
people  in  it ;  all  his  dreams  had  been  consecrated  to 
the  amelioration  of  a  suffering  humanity  by  peaceful 
means.  Something  told  him,  perhaps  the  spark  of 
idealism  still  left  kindling  in  his  soul,  that  this  sweep 
ing  and  unreasoning  vengeance  was  wrong.  After  all 
life  was  good.  How  calm  and  blue  the  lake  was,  how 
peaceful,  as  if  every  drop  in  its  immeasurable  waters 
held  naught  but  love  and  good-will  for  man ! 

Always,  in  the  intervals  between  suffocation  from 
the  gases  and  breathing,  he  had  loved  to  look  out  on 
the  smiling  face  of  the  waters  and  dream  his  day 
dreams  of  the  golden  age  to  come,  of  Mr.  Carrhart's 
Cooperative  Commonwealth.  He  wished  now  that 
he  had  paused  long  enough  to  seek  Blair's  advice  be 
fore  joining  the  anarchists,  but  that  was  forbidden, 
it  would  have  laid  the  sin  of  perjury,  punishable,  by 
instant  death,  on  his  soul. 

Why  had  his  impulsive  thirst  for  vengeance  blinded 
him  and  made  it  impossible  to  look  on  this  inhuman 
business  with  the  clarity  of  his  present  vision  ?  What 


SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL      471 

was  to  become  of  his  wife,  of  their  mother,  left  help 
less  and  half-witted  by  her  troubles  ? 

Well,  it  was  too  late  to  turn  back  now;  he  was 
bound  by  an  oath  given  in  perfect  sanity  of  mind  and 
accepted  without  question  of  his  honor.  He  would 
be  true  to  it.  No,  he  was  not  afraid ;  for  himself  he 
did  not  care ;  the  others  were  ready  to  surrender  their 
lives,  and  he  could  die  with  them,  like  a  man,  without 
a  murmur. 

On  the  roof  of  the  steel-mill  Michael  could  see  two 
members  of  the  corps  handling  the  massive  chains 
which  dropped  the  scrap  into  the  uplifted  noses  of 
the  huge  converters.  The  hollow  white  light  threw 
their  burly  frames  and  black  clothes  into  strong  relief, 
like  the  black  buildings  of  the  mill  against  the  blue 
lake.  The  men  caught  sight  of  him  and  waved  a 
knowing  hand.  How  indifferent  they  were !  How 
regular  in  their  actions,  not  even  giving  the  toilers  at 
their  side  the  slightest  clue  to  their  intention  of  hurl 
ing  explosives  into  the  mass  of  molten  steel. 

Michael  dug  his  finger  nails  into  his  flesh  and 
stepped  back  before  the  Spiegel-furnace,  The  attitude 
of  the  others  was  inspiring,  he  would  be  like  them. 

It  lacked  but  six  minutes  of  the  time  now !  La 
Vette's  hand  trembled  and  shook;  the  watch  threat 
ened  to  fall  from  his  uncertain  grasp ;  a  film  spread 
over  his  owl-like  eyes  and  his  sight  grew  dim  and 
blurred.  His  hot  and  panting  breath  clung  to  the 
window  pane,  and  his  handkerchief  was  employed  con 
stantly  to  wipe  the  moisture  away  that  he  might  look 
without. 

Evangeline  and  Blair  had  planned  to  leave  Marvin 
on  that  afternoon,  and  she  had  come  to  bid  her  father 
good-by.  Admission  was  refused  her  and  she  sat  in 


472  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

the  reception  room,  abstracted  but  patient,  resolved  to 
wait.  The  thought  of  departing,  of  removing  Blair 
from  the  disquieting  influences  and  the  tragic  associa 
tions  of  the  place,  made  her  happy,  and  she  was  more 
at  ease  mentally  than  she  had  been  for  months.  A 
smile  would  play  around  the  corners  of  her  mouth  and 
then  disappear  as  if  her  young  years  were  making  a 
tentative  assertion  of  their  right  to  gladness. 

La  Vette  counted  that  there  was  one  chance  in  thirty 
in  his  favor.  Perhaps  Evangeline  Marvin  had  left 
the  building  and  he  had  not  seen  her.  He  shook  his 
head ;  it  was  impossible,  it  was  useless  to  lie  to  himself 
in  that  fashion.  His  mind  was  made  up.  Unless  in 
four  more  minutes  Evangeline  Marvin  passed  down 
those  steps  he  would  kill  himself,  and  leave  the  work 
undone  which  he  was  under  the  most  solemn  of  all 
oaths  to  perform.  The  explosion  would  not  take 
place;  the  mills  would  stand  intact;  the  destiny  of  a 
great  cause  would  be  balked  and  thwarted  that  one 
good  woman  might  survive.  Was  this  just?  Was  it 
right?  Would  her  survival  atone  for  the  total  de 
pravity  of  those  who  were  to  be  saved  with  her.  He 
said  "  No,  no  "  to  himself :  a  "  No  "  thundered  from 
his  soul,  from  the  mysterious  depths  of  his  destructive 
being ;  and  still  that  "  No  "  faded  away  and  became  as 
if  it  had  not  been  spoken  before  the  "  Yes,  yes  "  that 
her  lips  whispered  in  his  ears.  He  sneered  at  him 
self ;  laughed  an  ironical  snarl  at  his  sacrifice  of  duty 
to  love.  It  was  ridiculous ;  it  was  preposterous ;  but 
he  bowed  submissively,  helplessly,  even  while  he 
jeered  and  scoffed. 

La  Vette  lit  a  cigarette  and  blew  the  smoke  out  in 
round  blue  rings.  It  was  merely  a  question  of  his 
life  or  Evangeline's  now,  and  he  did  not  hesitate  at  the 


SAMSONS  OF  THE  MILL      473 

choice.  He  was  calm  again  ;  his  pulses  beat  regularly ; 
his  blood  ran  ice.  He  drew  farther  back  from  the 
window  and  with  his  gaze  still  fastened  on  the  office 
steps,  he  drew  out  a  small  ivory-handled  revolver  and 
held  it  down  at  his  side.  The  walls  were  thick;  not 
a  sound  would  penetrate ;  evening  might  possibly  come 
before  his  suicide  would  be  discovered. 

Three  minutes  more  and  then  either  Evangeline 
Marvin  was  to  leave  the  mills,  or  he  the  world.  He 
began  to  tell  the  seconds,  but  after  counting  to  ten 
he  gave  it  over ;  he  could  trust  his  watch  for  one  thing, 
and,  since  he  had  but  three  minutes  to  live,  he  wished 
to  put  them  to  a  better  purpose. 

Two  minutes  remained.  How  he  loved  her !  He 
acknowledged  it  to  himself  at  last,  without  mockery 
and  without  shame.  Now  that  it  was  too  late  to  let 
her  know,  he  was  willing  to  confess  it  to  himself.  It 
was  pathetic,  he  thought,  that  she  might  never  learn 
what  torments  he  had  suffered  concerning  her  safety, 
that  he  had  stood,  revolver  in  hand,  ready  to  die  that 
she  might  live. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders — after  all  it  was  a  beau 
tiful  thing  to  die  with  a  noble  secret.  Would  the 
heroism  of  his  death  plead  the  excuse  of  his  life? 
What  cared  he  whether  it  would  or  not !  He  was  giv 
ing  up  his  life  for  hers,  the  rest  was  trivial.  Here  was 
one  violet  that  mercy,  without  a  blush  of  shame,  might 
throw  on  his  grave. 

One  minute  and  twelve  seconds  more.  He  was 
ready.  He  waved  his  hand  in  front  of  his  face  as  if 
something  w.ere  darkening  the  range  of  his  vision. 
Evangeline  hovered  before  him,  smiling,  demure, 
innocent;  he  heard  her  kindly  voice;  he  looked  into 
the  depths  of  those  eyes  that  had  nothing  to  conceal 


474  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

from  the  most  searching  gaze ;  her  arm  touched  his, 
confidingly,  beseechingly,  as  on  the  night  of  the 
cotillon. 

Oh,  if  he  might  live  and  love  and  be  loved!  All 
eternity  now  centered  in  the  one  revolution  of  the 
minute  hand.  He  wished  to  live ;  he  would  live.  He 
protested  against  the  cruelty  of  death  that  would  take 
him  from  her  forever. 

Dimly  as  in  a  vision,  he  descried  the  red  handker 
chief  drop  to  the  ground  from  the  hand  of  the  signal 
man  on  the  bridge.  He  put  his  revolver  to  his  right 
temple  and  fired.  The  name  Evangeline,  half  ex 
pressed,  uncompleted,  like  his  own  life,  died  away  on 
his  lips. 


T 


XL 
HOW  JOURNEYS  END 

URN  back  and  take  a  last  look,  Van;  a  long 


She  moved  on  her  seat  in  the  car  to  comply 
with  Blair's  request;  reluctantly,  for  it  was  to  satisfy 
him  rather  than  herself,  she  screened  her  eyes  with 
her  hand  and  peered  through  the  window. 

It  was  but  an  hour  after  La  Vette's  suicide,  and  the 
suburban  train  was  pulling  them  away  from  Marvin 
towards  Chicago,  passing  the  rows  of  squalid  tene 
ments  on  R  street,  and  fast  rolling  away  through  the 
wide  areas  of  open  prairie,  bedecked  with  the  un- 
smutched  snow. 

"  I've  seen  enough  of  the  mills,"  she  answered  wea 
rily,  resting  her  pensive  face  on  her  hand.  "  I  never 
care  to  see  them  again." 

Nevertheless,  she  turned  to  gaze  at  the  tall  chimneys 
pouring  forth  their  volumes  of  turbined  black  smoke, 
at  the  red  flames  whirling  from  the  stacks,  at  the 
translucent  glare  breaking  from  the  converters;  but 
she  shuddered  involuntarily  and  averted  her  glances. 
Careless  of  mankind,  heedless  of  the  great  tragedy  of 
Blair's  departure,  of  the  little  comedy  of  his  coming, 
these  rolling-mills  at  Marvin  went  on  grinding  with 
out  cess,  cruel,  implacable,  unreckoning.  How  like 
yet  how  very  unlike  the  mills  of  God  were  they ! 

475 


476  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

He  nodded  abstractedly,  almost  as  if  her  remark  had 
escaped  his  hearing.  The  mills  were  receding  from 
view  swifter  and  swifter  and  it  seemed  as  if  his  eyes 
wished  to  stamp  a  last  and  indelible  impression  on  his 
soul. 

"Are  you  sorry  to  leave.  Blair?"  she  asked. 

He  gave  no  answer,  his  glances  still  fastened  on  the 
vanishing  battle-ground,  reverberant  with  the  sobs  of 
his  defeat. 

Suddenly,  after  his  absent  manner,  he  awoke  to  her 
question.  There  was  no  one  in  the  car,  and  they  were 
sitting  with  hands  clasped.  His  grasp  tightened  on 
hers  more  affectionately,  as  he  replied : 

"  Yes,  I'm  sorry  to  go ;  and  yet,  after  all "  He 

paused  and  left  the  sentence  incompleted. 

The  train  whirled  on,  flying  past  the  square  dun 
building  of  the  Catholic  school,  its  turrets  glistening 
with  snow. 

"  Look !  "  he  spoke  with  a  half-smothered  exclama 
tion.  "  I  remember  having  passed  there  just  a  little 
over  a  year  ago — on  my  way  out  here  to  seek  work  in 
the  mills." 

"  How  much  has  happened  since  then,  Blair,"  she 
reflected. 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Van,  that  all  my  life  has  been 
crowded  into  that  one  year,  as  if  nothing  had  happened 
before  it." 

She  looked  at  him  in  sympathy,  in  loving  pity,  won 
dering  at  the  change  which  had  come  over  him  in  that 
one  year;  at  his  black  hair  thickly  streaked  with  gray; 
his  frame,  once  so  athletic  and  powerful,  now  bent  and 
weak.  He  read  the  question  framed  on  her  lips ;  there 
was  no  need  of  expressing  it  in  words. 


HOW  JOURNEYS   END       477 

"  It's  been  a  hard,  difficult  year,  filled  to  the  brim 
with  trial,  bitterness  and  defeat ;  but  after  all  it  has 
been  worth  all  the  other  years  of  my  life.  Above  all 
it  prepared  me  for  you,  Van." 

"Do  you  think  that?" 

"  I  know  it.  Adversity,  hardship,  all  the  suffering 
that  a  man  goes  through,  is  but  the  shaping  of  his 
character  for  the  woman  who  is  to  share  his  life.  The 
pity  is,  the  tragedy  comes  when  life  has  schooled  the 
man  for  the  woman,  the  woman  for  the  man,  and  fate 
forbids  the  meeting  of  these  two." 

"  I  always  thought  it  would  end  like  this,  Blair.  I 
never  believed  that  our  parting  was  for  long." 

Smiling,  happy  in  their  love  at  least,  they  sat  in 
quiet.  The  train  curved  nearer  the  lake.  Westering 
winds  were  blowing  the  snowdrifts  from  the  Michi 
gan  shore  towards  Chicago ;  on  the  horizon  large 
squares  of  white  were  floating  swan-like ;  and  the 
deep  green  and  azure  waves  rippled  and  played  be 
tween  the  line  of  shore  and  the  line  of  snow.  A  flock 
of  wild  geese  was  honking  southward — certain  por 
tent  of  colder  weather ;  and  the  gulls,  in  full  enjoyment 
of  their  wild  life,  were  circling  through  the  air  and 
laving  their  breasts  in  the  chill  waters. 

"  I  used  to  think,  Blair,"  she  said,  as  if  the  words 
had  been  meditated  before  spoken,  "  that  you  weren't 
ready  for  me,  that  I  wasn't  ready  for  you ;  but  T  be 
lieve  differently  now.  We  have  served  our  apprentice 
ship  to  love;  and  our  suffering  and  trials  prepared 
us  for  our  marriage." 

"  Yes,"  he  acquiesced  dreamily,  "  my  nature  has 
deepened  and  broadened ;  as  regards  myself,  from  a 
purely  selfish  point  of  view,  there  can  be  no  question 
of  the  value  of  my  sojourn  in  the  mills." 


478 


BY  BREAD  ALONE 


"  Your  point  of  view  was  never  selfish,  Blair,"  she 
assured  him,  "  and  it  never  will  be." 

He  nodded ;  his  face  reflecting  the  thoughts  that  oc 
cupied  his  mind,  crowding  out  all  things  else. 

She  pressed  his  hand  compassionately.  "  Try  not 
to  think  of  what  happened  out  there,  of  what  you  left 
behind.  How  many  will  be  made  glad  by  your  coming 
home." 

"  Perhaps  I  should  never  have  left  home,  Van ;  I 
might  have  done  better  to  have  remained  there." 

"  No,"  she  asserted  cheeringly,  "  you  were  made  so 
much  more  valuable  by  your  absence  that  the  cost  of 
waiting  will  have  been  paid  for  by  the  riches  you  ac 
cumulated  while  you  were  gone.  I  waited,"  she  ended 
archly. 

He  was  in  no  mood  to  dispute ;  he  let  her  babble  on 
in  her  encouraging,  cheering  way  until  she  had  done ; 
then  he  said : 

"  For  myself,  for  you,  for  the  few  at  home,  Van, 
the  issue  of  my  going  or  coming  seems  small — infi 
nitely  small — when  I  consider  the  thousands  of  unfor 
tunates  I  leave  behind.  You  know  what  their  life  was 
before  I  came;  you  know  what  it  will  be  now  that  I 
have  gone  away.  Was  my  coming  well  for  them? 
My  mind,  my  heart,  my  conscience — everything  tells 
me  no.  Is  my  going  cowardly?" 

"  I  shan't  answer  that  question,  Blair.  There  is  no 
excuse  for  asking  it.  If  any  parent  were  as  severe 
with  his  child  as  you  are  with  yourself,  you  would  be 
the  first  one  to  term  him  cruel." 

Shaking  his  head,  he  disregarded  her  pka  made  in 
his  behalf  against  his  own  accusation.  "Be  that 
as  it  may,  Van;  I  can  only  justify  my  departure  from 
Marvin  on  one  ground — I  leave  because  I  am  certain 


HOW  JOURNEYS  END       479 

that  I  can  better  the  lives  of  the  people  there  and  un 
told  others  by  turning  my  energies  in  a  different  direc 
tion.  I  have  a  secret  that  I  have  never  shared  with 
even  you." 

The  old  light,  the  ardor,  the  rapt  expression  she 
knew  so  well,  kindled  the  strong  features  of  his  ear 
nest  face,  consecrating  it.  She  eyed  him  intently,  eager 
for  the  revelation  of  the  surprise  he  held  in  store,  too 
anxious  to  interrupt  by  a  disconcerting  question.  He 
went  on  with  the  vim  that  had  been  foreign  to  him  for 
so  long  a  time : 

"  It  occurred  to  me  long  ago  that  I  have  been 
working  at  the  wrong  end.  I  have  been  trying  to  in 
fluence  the  people  to  change  legislation  and  I  failed ; 
there  is  another  way  and  a  better  to  gain  the  same 
ends.  I  Will  bend  all  my  energies,  all  my  strength  to 
wards  influencing  legislation  to  realize  the  Coopera 
tive  Commonwealth  for  the  people.  I  will  try  for  a 
seat  in  the  next  state  legislature  and  work  my  way  up 
wards,  to  Congress,  to  the  Senate  if  good  fortune 
speed  my  plans." 

His  awakened  enthusiasm,  so  long  lethargic,  was  like 
the  rejuvenation  of  his  flagging  interests,  his  mori 
bund  hopes,  his  drained  vitality,  and  Evangeline  was 
too  rejoiced  to  hint  at  possible  hindrances  that  his  am 
bition  might  encounter. 

"  I  have  had  this  in  mind  for  a  long  time,"  con 
tinued  Blair ;  "  it  came  to  me  like  an  inspiration  the 
night  before  the  strike  when  I  delivered  my  anti-tariff 
speech.  Perhaps  the  inspiration  itself  was  suggested 
by  the  talk  I  had  with  you  that  night  under  the  trees, 
near  the  shipyard.  Do  you  remember  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  simply,  unwilling  to  interrupt. 

"  We  both  agreed  that  it  was  a  characteristic  and 


480  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

striking  tendency  of  our  time  that  the  hand  of  help 
was  extended  by  the  favored  few  to  the  unfortunate 
many,  rather  than  that  the  hands  of  the  poor  were  up 
lifted  beseechingly  to  the  rich.  Henceforth,  then,  I 
shall  work  with  the  current  and  not  against  it." 

Carried  by  his  vision  beyond  the  thought  of  the 
present  moment,  he  let  his  dreaming  thought  wander 
afar,  away  from  her. 

:<  You  were  telling  me  about  the  night  when  you 
made  the  anti-tariff  speech  and  your  inspiration,"  she 
suggested  softly,  recalling  him  to  earth. 

"  Well,"  he  complied,  reverting  to  his  theme,  "  I 
thought  that  if  I  could  move  my  hearers  so  profoundly 
I  must  have  the  power  to  thrill  and  stir  immense 
audiences,  great  bodies  of  men.  Then  the  idea  came 
that  my  gift  deserved  a  wider  field  and  perhaps  more 
potent  issues.  Next,  my  conversation  with  you,  all 
my  pondering  on  the  subject,  recalled  itself;  and  one 
thought  brought  the  other  in  its  train  and  the  logical 
conclusion  swept  across  my  brain  like  an  inspiration." 

She  vouchsafed  neither  approval  nor  disapproval  of 
the  work  he  had  outlined  for  his  future.  Too  glad  to 
have  him  restored  to  her,  too  grateful  for  his  love,  she 
was  content  to  let  the  world  and  the  future  set 
tle  their  carking  problems  as  they  came,  while  she 
luxuriated  in  the  full  joy  of  the  present  moment. 

His  thoughts  brooded  over  the  waters,  sad  despite 
himself  with  the  memories  of  the  mill,  its  peoples  and 
the  associations  he  was  leaving  behind,  rejoicing 
anon  with  the  reflection  of  the  still  loftier  mission  he 
was  going  forth  to  accept,  of  Evangeline's  love  that 
would  never  fail  him  no  matter  what  the  outcome. 

Evangeline,  as  if  jealous  of  the  thoughts  that  strayed 
from  her,  clasped  his  hand  warmly.  Smilingly  their 


HOW  JOURNEYS  END       481 

glances  met  and  then,  after  a  moment,  reverted  to  the 
lake. 

The  first  foundation  on  which  he  had  reared  his 
lofty  structure  of  ideals  had  shifted  like  quicksand 
and  toppled  his  temple  beautiful  into  the  dust,  ruined 
and  defiled.  Undaunted,  undismayed  he  was  ready  to 
build  anew.  What  fate  awaited  him  and  his  new  tem 
ple  and  the  sad  humanity  that  his  second  sanctuary 
would  be  reared  to  gladden  ? 

Perhaps  the  secret  was  locked  in  the  bosom  of  the 
waters  that  played  so  tranquilly  between  shore  and  ho 
rizon  as  if  in  utter  unconsciousness  of  the  significance 
of  the  knowledge  they  concealed.  Even  as  its  waves 
had  witnessed  the  red  man  disport  himself  by  its 
shores,  his  savage  bliss  unmarred  by  premonition  of 
the  pale  face  who  was  to  displace  him,  so  perhaps  the 
child  of  to-day  dreamed  not  of  the  coming  of  the 
Cooperative  Commonwealth  that  would  usurp  the 
place  of  the  false  system  that  ruled  his  life. 

And  even  as  civilized  man  regarded  the  Indian 
whose  wigwam  guarded  the  shores  of  Michigan  before 
his  advent,  might  not  the  child  of  to-morrow,  with  that 
same  disapproving  smile,  regard  the  inadequate  gov 
ernment,  the  unjust  social  scheme  that  ruled  the  life 
of  the  child  of  to-day  ? 

The  majestic  lake,  watching  the  mills  steadily  en 
croaching  on  its  borders,  viewing  the  throngs  of  toil 
ers  moiling  before  the  furnaces,  knowing  the  purpose 
ful  restlessness  of  creation,  may  have  been  tempted  to 
reveal  the  secret ;  but  it  flowed  on  as  silently,  as  peace 
fully  and  as  indifferently  as  when  it  had  refused  to 
warn  the  red  man  of  the  approach  of  the  predatory 
white. 

THE   END. 


RECENT 

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Anthony  Hopes  New  Novel 

TRISTRAM   OF  BLENT 

IT  is  always  a  question  what  Anthony  Hope  will  do 
next.  From  a  dashing  romance  of  an  imaginary 
kingdom  to  drawing-room  repartee  is  a  leap  which 
this  versatile  writer  performs  with  the  greatest  ease.  In 
his  "Tristram  of  Blent"  he  has  made  a  new  departure, 
demonstrating  his  ability  to  depict  character  by  some 
exceedingly  delicate  and  skillful  delineation.  The  plot 
is  unique,  and  is  based  upon  the  difference  of  time  of  the 
Russian  and  English  calendars,  by  which  a  marriage,  a 
birth,  and  the  ownership  of  lands  and  name  are  in  turn 
affected,  producing  complications  which  hurry  the  reader 
on  in  search  of  the  satisfactory  solution  which  awaits 
him.  The  Tristrams  are  characters  of  strong  individual 
ities,  of  eccentricities  likewise.  These,  coloring  all 
their  acts,  leave  the  reader  in  doubt  as  to  the  issue  ;  yet 
it  is  a  logical  story  through  and  through,  events  following 
events  in  carefully  planned  sequence.  A  work  of  un 
doubted  originality  based  on  modern  conditions,  "  Tris 
tram  of  Blent "  proves  that  the  author  does  not  need  an 
ideal  kingdom  to  write  a  thrilling  romance.  (12mo,  $1.50.) 

IRISH  PASTORALS 

By  Shan  F.  Bullock 

"  TRISH  PASTORALS"  is  a  collection  of  character 
J[  sketches  of  the  soil — of  the  Irish  soil — by  one  who 
has  lived  long  and  closely  among  the  laboring,  farming 
peasantry  of  Ireland.  It  is  not,  however,  a  dreary  re 
cital  of  long  days  of  toil  with  scanty  food  and  no  recre 
ation,  but  it  depicts  within  a  life  more  strenuous  than 
one  can  easily  realize,  abundant  elements  of  keen  native 
wit  and  irrepressible  good  nature.  The  book  will  give 
many  American  readers  a  new  conception  of  Irish  pas 
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go  to  form  the  strength  and  gentleness  of  the  Irish  char 
acter.  (12mo,  $1.50.) 


HERE  are  two  volumes  of  most  thrilling  tales,  gleaned 
from   the  material   which   the  age  has  trrought  us. 
Each  collection  occupies  an  original  field  and  depicts  some 
characteristic  phots  of  our  great  commercial  life. 

WALL  STREET   STORIES 

By  Edtvin  Lefevre 

IT  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better  setting  for  a  good 
story  than  this  hotbed  of  speculation.  On  the  Ex 
change,  every  day  is  a  day  of  excitement,  replete  with 
dangerous  risks,  narrow  escapes,  victories,  defeats.  There 
are  rascals,  "Napoleonic"  rascals,  and  the  "lambs" 
who  are  shorn ;  there  is  the  old  fight  between  right  and 
wrong,  and  sometimes  the  right  wins,  and  sometimes — 
as  the  world  goes — the  wrong.  In  the  maddening  whirl 
of  this  life,  which  he  knows  so  well,  Edwin  Lefevre  has 
laid  the  setting  of  his  Wall  Street  stories.  A  number  of 
them  have  already  appeared  in  McClures  Magazine,  and 
their  well-merited  success  is  the  cause  of  publication  in 
book  form  of  this  absorbing  collection.  (12mo,  §1.25.) 

HELD    FOR    ORDERS 

STORIES  OF  RAILROAD  LIFE 
By  Frank  H.  Spearman 

WHILE  railroad  life  affords  fewer  elements  of  pas 
sion  and  emotion  than  the  life  of  Wall  Street,  it 
offers  however  a  far  greater  field  for  the  depiction  of 
the  heroic.  Deeds  of  bravery  are  probably  more  com 
mon  among  these  hardy,  cool,  resourceful  men — the  rail 
road  employees — than  among  any  other  members  of 
society.  "Held  For  Orders "  describes  thrilling  incidents 
in  the  management  of  a  mountain  division  in  the  far  West. 
The  stories  are  all  independent,  but  have  characters  in 
common,  many  of  whom  have  been  met  with  in  McClure's 
Magazine.  Mr.  Spearman  combines  the  qualities  of  a 
practical  railroad  man  with  those  of  a  fascinating  story 
teller,  and  his  talcs,  both  in  subject  and  manner  of  tell 
ing,  are  something  new  in  literature.  (12mo,  $1.50.) 


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